Izmit Earthquake In Turkey

On 17 August 1999 at 3.01am on Tuesday local time, an earthquake had struck Izmit in western Turkey and shook up to more than 45 seconds. The earthquake is caused by the Anatolian Plate, consisting primarily of Turkey, being pushed west as it is squeezed between both the African and Arabian plate on the south and the Eurasian Plate on the north. The release of pressure, which is built up due to movement of tectonic plates, caused the earthquake.

This 7.4 magnitude earthquake had left more than 17,000 people dead and also 43,959 injured. 50,000 houses and 4,000 other buildings were heavily damaged and 2,000 buildings collapsed as the government regulations about making sure buildings can withstand earthquakes were often ignored in this part of Turkey.

Many residents of the heavy populated town had no chance to escape as they were sleeping at that point of time. Many buildings were also destroyed in Istanbul. The motorway between Ankara and Istanbul buckled, causing cars to crash into each other. There were also 10 powerful aftershocks within two hours of the initial earthquake, causing more damage and loss of life. Underneath the rubble, rescue teams have found some people alive. Many desperate relatives have also even been digging with basic tools or with their bare hands. On the day of the catastrophe, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance.

In order to minimize damage from such events, I think that they should build their buildings as strong as possible in order to withstand earthquakes and not save on money and use brittle construction materials to build them. They can also have earthquake drilling exercises to prepare the people when an earthquake happens.

Bibliography

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Izmit-Earthquake

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/17/newsid_2534000/2534245.stm

http://www.slideshare.net/GeoBlogs/izmit-earthquake-facts

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/geology/turkey/index.php

http://www.johnmartin.com/earthquakes/eqshow/647014_00.htm