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

1999 at 3.01am

The ground shook for up to 45 seconds. The earthquake was

caused by 2 plates moving past each other (the Anatolian and

Eurasion)What type of plate boundary is

this?

The earthquake struck at 3.01 am when most people were

asleep in their beds.

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

Many of the buildings were not earthquake proof

The government regulations about making sure buildings can

withstand earthquakes were often ignored in this part of

Turkey.

600 apartments built by one contractor in the Izmit area

collapsed.

Underground pipes and cables were broken.

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

17 000 people were killed by the disaster.

Many died in their apartment blocks.

A further 24 000 people were injured, and 600 000 people were

made homeless.

Tsunami flooded farmland on the coast, causing damage to

crops.

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.

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.

IZMIT – EARTHQUAKE IN AN LEDC

During the earthquake, dozens of buildings and bridges

collapsed – many roads were damaged or blocked.

Emergency services could not get through as roads were

damaged.

The rescue efforts by the emergency services were

severely disrupted.