A phenomenological research on the experiences of Gaziantep-Nurdağı residents who experienced the earthquake on 6 February 2023

This research was conducted to examine the effects of the earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş on individuals who experienced it on February 6, 2023. The study aimed to understand how individuals experienced the earthquake, how they made sense of it, and how the earthquake transformed their life worlds by adopting a phenomenological method. The universe of the research consisted of individuals who directly experienced the earthquake in the Nurdağı district of Gaziantep province. The sample was determined using the snowball sampling method, and a total of 20 people were interviewed in depth. The research examined how participants defined the moment of the earthquake, their metaphors for the earthquake, what the disaster reminded them of, the first people and thoughts that came to mind, and their perceptions of the cause of the earthquake. Participants defined the earthquake with concepts such as apocalypse, disaster, the result of negligence, and the helplessness of human beings; and expressed the lived experience with emotions such as shock, panic, fear of death, helplessness, and the unknown. Participants defined the earthquake not only as a physical destruction, but also as a psychological and existential crisis. During the earthquake, themes such as family, loved ones and turning to faith came to the fore, and it was observed that they made sense of their traumatic experiences through metaphors. Both strengthening and loneliness were experienced in social relations after the disaster; this situation overlaps with the approaches of theorists such as Schütz, Giddens and Rehorick. This research, conducted specifically for Nurdağı, provides original contributions to the literature by providing in-depth insights into the individual and social effects of the disaster in the local context. According to the results of the research, strengthening psychosocial support mechanisms in disaster management, eliminating social inequalities after the disaster and increasing disaster awareness in society are of great importance. The study analyzed the psychological and sociological effects of disasters on individuals in detail using the phenomenological method and made important inferences regarding disaster management and individual recovery processes after trauma.