evidence: On 6th February 2023 two large earthquakes hit southern and central Turkey, and northern Syria. They measured approximately 7.5 and 7.8 on the Moment-magnitude scale, and led to massive loss of life, and property. At the time of writing it’s been a week since these catastrophic events, and the images of destruction, and unbearable loss of human life have flooded our news feeds. [...] Different organisations, and individuals have taken different approaches. Just search for ‘Turkey earthquake maps‘ and you’ll find a plethora of all types of map. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to collate and review the designs of a few examples (from the many hundreds!) that I’ve seen. They’re largely some of the better maps created, but if you hang around until the end (or skip the good stuff altogether) there’s a small gallery of the not-so-good for those that still value sub-par maps being called out. Here goes… [...] This map illustrates the impact in Turkey (a separate map shows Syria). It’s the same as the USGS map but the design makes more sense for more readers. The map shows settlement geography as a backdrop instead of a hillshade. It’s a subtle choice but when we’re talking about the devastation from an earthquake, it’s where people live that matters, not a pleasant piece of unpopulated hillside. It provides context.