| Date | August 17, 1999, 03:02 UTC |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 7.4 Mw,[1] 7.5 Mw [2] |
| Depth | 17 km |
| Epicenter | 40.702ºN 29.987ºE[3] |
| Countries or regions | Turkey |
| Casualties | 17,127 dead, 43,953 injured (official Turkish estimate) |
The 1999 İzmit earthquake (also known as the Kocaeli or Gölcük earthquake) was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey on August 17, 1999, at about 3:02am local time.[1] The event lasted for 37 seconds,[1] killing around 17,000 people[4] and leaving approximately half a million people homeless. Even though official sources consider casualties 17,000 people, non-official sources consider the casualties 35,000 people. The nearby city of Izmit was very badly damaged.
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An official Turkish estimate of October 19, 1999, placed the toll at 17,127 killed and 43,959 injured, but many sources suggest the actual figure may have been closer to 45,000 dead and a similar number injured.[4] Reports from September 1999 show that 120,000 poorly engineered houses were damaged beyond repair, 50,000 houses were heavily damaged, 2,000 other buildings collapsed and 4,000 other buildings were heavily damaged. 300,000 people were left homeless after the earthquake.
The earthquake was heavily felt in this industrialized and densely populated urban area of the country, including oil refineries, several automotive plants, and the Turkish navy headquarters and arsenal in Gölcük, increasing the severity of the loss of life and property. The earthquake caused a subsequent fire due to a collapse of a tower in a Tüpraş oil refinery. The refinery had over 700,000 tons of oil stored. It took several days to get the fire under control. The earthquake also caused considerable damage in Istanbul, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) away from the earthquake's epicenter.[5]
The Izmit earthquake had a rupture length of 150 kilometers (93 mi) extending from the city of Düzce all the way into the Sea of Marmara along the Gulf of İzmit. Offsets along the rupture were as large as 5.7 meters (18.7 ft) (Reilinger, et al., 2000).
The earthquake occurred along the western portion of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ). The Anatolian Plate, which consists primarily of Turkey, is being pushed west about 2–2.5 cm (0.8–1.0 in) a year, as it is squeezed between the Eurasian Plate on the north, and both the African Plate and the Arabian Plate on the south. Major earthquakes in Turkey result from slips along the NAFZ or the Eastern Anatolian Fault.
The earthquake caused a tsunami in the Sea of Marmara that was about 3 meters high.
Destruction in Istanbul mainly happened in the Avcılar district, which is on the fault line extending across the Marmara Sea. Avcılar was built on ground mainly composed of sea soil at the bottom level, which makes this district vulnerable to any earthquake. International aid was sent out from various countries. This aid included search teams, tents, helicopters, and medical supplies, among other items.
A massive international response was mounted to assist in digging for survivors and assisting the wounded and homeless. Rescue teams were dispatched within 24–48 hours of the disaster, and the assistance to the survivors was channeled through NGOs and the Red Crescent.
The following table shows the breakdown of rescue teams by country in the affected locations:
| Location | Search and Rescue Teams From: |
|---|---|
| Gölcük | Hungary, Israel, France, South Korea |
| Yalova | Germany, Hungary, Israel, United Kingdom, France, Austria, Romania, South Korea |
| Avcılar (Istanbul) | Germany, Greece |
| İzmit (Kocaeli) | Russia, Hungary, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, USA, Iceland, South Korea |
| Sakarya | Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Egypt |
| Düzce | United Kingdom |
| Bayrampasa (Istanbul) | Italy |
| Kartal (Istanbul) | Azerbaijan |
Search and Rescue Effort as of August 19, 1999. Source: USAID[6]
In total, rescue teams from twelve countries assisted in the rescue effort.
The U.K announced an immediate grant of £50,000 to help the Turkish Red Crescent, while the International Red Cross and Red Crescent pledged £4.5 million to help victims. Blankets, medical supplies and food were flown from Stansted airport. Engineers from Thames Water went to help restore water supplies. India also assisted by providing 32,000 tents and 2 million rupees to help in the reconstruction process.
US President Bill Clinton [7] and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif later visited Istanbul and İzmit to examine the level of destruction and meet with the survivors.
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