in 1999, the earthquake in Izmit killed more than 17,000 people

The human toll of the earthquake that occurred on the night of February 5 to 6 in Turkey and Syria continues to grow. Located on one of the most active seismic zones in the world, Turkey is unfortunately used to earthquakes. The latter is the largest since that of August 17, 1999, which caused the death of more than 17,000 people and injured at least 23,000.

In the middle of the night, at 3:02 a.m. local time, an earthquake measuring 7.2 to 7.6 on the Richter scale struck the northwest of the country for forty-five seconds. Over 300 aftershocks follow within the hour. The hypocenter is located in Gölcük, near Izmit, a large industrial city 150 kilometers east of Istanbul.

Rain of accusations

The damage is considerable. Nearly 244,000 buildings collapsed, the official count gives the figure of 17,480 dead and 23,781 injured. About 10,000 people are missing. The quake also caused a small tsunami in the town of Degirmendere on the Marmara coast, where water advanced 100 meters into the town centre.

Very quickly, the accusations rained down against the Turkish state, the army and the building contractors. The government, faced with the scale of the disaster, is slow to react, forcing residents to search the rubble with their bare hands. It was only after twenty-four hours that he decided to use emergency powers, allowing him to requisition public and private resources to coordinate relief. All companies with equipment that can help clear the rubble must make them available to the authorities.

People are getting organized. The ice rink in Izmit and refrigerated trucks become temporary morgues. Tents are erected in all the villages to make the survivors sleep. The streets being transformed into garbage cans, and the oil leaks engulfing the beaches, the threat of epidemics is felt: disinfectant products are distributed and the rescuers are vaccinated against typhoid.

International aid

Coming to Izmit, the President of the Republic at the time, Süleyman Demirel, is jeered at by the crowd. The governors of the three disaster regions of Yalova, Adapazari and Izmit were then dismissed after being deemed unable to set up the natural disaster mechanism.

The earthquake highlights the population’s lack of information about the reactions to adopt in this type of disaster. He also points to the lack of strict construction standards. At the time of the wild real estate boom, thousands of Turks lived in illegal constructions and without respect for safety rules.

Faced with the scale of the disaster, Turkey quickly requested international aid. The countries of the European Union, the United States or even Israel have mobilized to send medical aid and technical assistance to clear the rubble.

One of the most documented earthquakes in the world

France responded to the call by dispatching significant rescue and medical assistance resources to the scene. Between August 17 and 25, two specialized civil security detachments comprising 150 men with 15 dogs and 30 tons of equipment were sent to search for and extract the survivors from the rubble.

A French military surgical antenna is also mobilized and operates until the end of September. Some volunteers from the International Emergency Firefighters Association who intervened at the time are also on their way to help the country again.

Little by little, the psychologists then gradually replaced the lifeguards. For several months, even years, some survivors lived with a suitcase in the entrance, a bag distributed by their town hall with a complete first aid kit.

To date, the Izmit earthquake is one of the most documented in the world. After several studies, French seismologists from the CNRS and Turkish seismologists from the Kandili observatory have revealed very likely warning signs, in particular a signal never observed before: the repetition of the same vibration every five to ten seconds at the hypocenter of the earthquake.

---

Source

---