An earthquake of 7.4 on the Richter Scale struck the region around Izmit in Turkey on 17th

August 1999

The area around Izmit is a centre of industry in Turkey. As

a result, lots of people have moved to the area, and

population densities are over 1000 people per km²

The earthquake struck at 3.01 am when most people were

asleep in their beds.

600 apartments built by one contractor in the Izmit area

collapsed.

Many of the builders and contractors who built houses

and other buildings in Izmit took short cuts to save money and

time.

The government regulations about making sure buildings can

withstand earthquakes were often ignored in this part of

Turkey.

A fire at an oil refinery lasted for 3 days.

It took 12 days to restore the electricity supply to the area.

60-70% of buildings near the plate boundary collapsed.

Underground pipes and cables were broken.

15 000 people were killed by the disaster. A further 24 000 people

were injured, and 600 000 people were made homeless.

More than 1000 aftershocks shook Izmit after the quake. Some of them were strong enough to topple damaged

buildings.

Electricity supplies were disrupted.

Tsunami flooded farmland on the coast, causing damage to

crops.

Izmit sits on the plate boundary between the Anatolian and the

Eurasian plates. The Anatolian is a minor plate.

People in Izmit have built many homes, factories and other buildings near to the plate

boundary.

Due to a lack of power, water pumping stations could not

supply water, so many areas had no clean water after the

earthquake.

During the earthquake, dozens of buildings and bridges

collapsed – many roads were damaged or blocked.

Three days after the earthquake, local people were still using their bare hands to dig people out of

the rubble.

The earthquake was caused by the Anatolian plate and the

Eurasian plate moving past each other.

The ground shook for up to 45 seconds.

Emergency services could not get through as roads were

damaged.

The rescue efforts by the emergency services were

severely disrupted.

Friction between the tectonic plates built up. The release of

pressure caused the earthquake.