Izmit Earthquake Facts

Slideshow Transcript

1. Slide 1: An earthquake of 7.4 on the Richter Scale struck the region around Izmit in Turkey on 17th August 1999
2. Slide 2: 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
3. Slide 3: The earthquake struck at 3.01 am when most people were asleep in their beds.
4. Slide 4: 600 apartments built by one contractor in the Izmit area collapsed.
5. Slide 5: Many of the builders and contractors who built houses and other buildings in Izmit took short cuts to save money and time.
6. Slide 6: The government regulations about making sure buildings can withstand earthquakes were often ignored in this part of Turkey.
7. Slide 7: A fire at an oil refinery lasted for 3 days.
8. Slide 8: It took 12 days to restore the electricity supply to the area.
9. Slide 9: 60-70% of buildings near the plate boundary collapsed.
10. Slide 10: Underground pipes and cables were broken.
11. Slide 11: 15 000 people were killed by the disaster. A further 24 000 people were injured, and 600 000 people were made homeless.
12. Slide 12: More than 1000 aftershocks shook Izmit after the quake. Some of them were strong enough to topple damaged buildings.
13. Slide 13: Electricity supplies were disrupted.
14. Slide 14: Tsunami flooded farmland on the coast, causing damage to crops.
15. Slide 15: Izmit sits on the plate boundary between the Anatolian and the Eurasian plates. The Anatolian is a minor plate.
16. Slide 16: People in Izmit have built many homes, factories and other buildings near to the plate boundary.
17. Slide 17: Due to a lack of power, water pumping stations could not supply water, so many areas had no clean water after the earthquake.
18. Slide 18: During the earthquake, dozens of buildings and bridges collapsed – many roads were damaged or blocked.
19. Slide 19: Three days after the earthquake, local people were still using their bare hands to dig people out of the rubble.
20. Slide 20: The earthquake was caused by the Anatolian plate and the Eurasian plate moving past each other.
21. Slide 21: The ground shook for up to 45 seconds.
22. Slide 22: Emergency services could not get through as roads were damaged.
23. Slide 23: The rescue efforts by the emergency services were severely disrupted.
24. Slide 24: Friction between the tectonic plates built up. The release of pressure caused the earthquake.