Izmit Earthquake Website Links For
1999 		 

Information About

Izmit Earthquake
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The earthquake had a rupture length of 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the city of Düzce to all the way into the Sea Of Marmara along the Gulf Of İzmit . Movement along the rupture was as large as 5.7 meters (18.7 ft). (Reilinger, ''et al.'', 2000)

This Earthquake occurred in the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ). The Anatolian Plate which consists primarily of Turkey is being pushed west about 2-2.5 cm/yr (0.8-1.0 in), as it is squeezed between the Eurasian Plate on the north, and both the African Plate and the Arabian Plate on the south. Most of the large earthquakes result as slip occurs along the NAFZ or Eastern Anatolian Fault.

The official number of casualties is about 17,000 although real numbers are thought to be above 35,000. The rupture passed through major cities that are among the most industrialized and urban areas of the country, including Oil Refineries , several Car companies and Navy headquarters and arsenal in Golcuk thus increasing the severity of the life and property loss.

This quake was predicted using the new discovery Earthquake Storm s.


IMPACTS

Impacts of the earthquake were vast. A few short-term impacts were:-

  • 130 aftershocks in 2 hours.

  • Buildings collapsed (100,000 apartments, 4,000 buildings).

  • 2 Tsunami s.


  • Social

  • ---No Electricity or water.

  • ---Army barracks collapsed.

  • ---An ice-skating rink and refrigerated lorries were used as mortuaries.

  • ---Disease - Cholera , Typhoid , Dysentry .

  • ---Homelessness.

  • --- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

    • ::A sample of 910 earthquake survivors living in a tent city showed that 25% of them met the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. (Tural, ''et al.'', 2004)


  • Environmental

  • ---An oil refinery leaked into the water supply and Izmit Bay and subsequently caught fire.

    • ::Because of the leak and fire, the already highly polluted bay saw a 2 to 3-fold increase in Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) levels compared to 1984 samples. Dissolved Oxygen and Chlorophyll reached the lowest levels in 15 years. (Okay, ''et al.'', 2001)


  • Economic effects

  • ---Economic development set back 15 years.

  • ---Industrial areas damaged.

  • ---£10 billion (= $18 billion) damage.

  • ---Largest Oil Refinery damaged.

    • death caused



REFERENCES

  • 1 PMID 10968782

  • 2 PMID 11436816

  • 3 PMID 15730063