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

people were killed by the disaster.

Many died in their apartment blocks.

A further people were injured, and 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.