izmit earthquake facts
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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.