Even if we do not count minor fractures, there are three major fault lines in our country such as the North Anatolian Fault Line, the East Anatolian Fault Line and the West Anatolian Fault Line. In other words, whether we accept it or not, whether we take precautions or not, Turkey is an earthquake country. Unfortunately, we only have to remember this fact with devastating earthquakes and the great disasters that followed.
Measures to be taken for the earthquake, responsible and criminals are the subject of a separate article. But before we know such details, we must remember the devastating earthquake disasters we have experienced. We must remember that we should at least try to take precautions as individuals so that such disasters do not happen again. Let’s take a closer look at the great earthquake disasters in our country and the losses they left behind.
The 8 most destructive earthquakes in our country:
- 1939 Erzincan Earthquake – 7. 9
- 1976 Çaldıran Earthquake – 7. 5
- 1999 Gölcük Earthquake – 7. 4
- 1999 Düzce Earthquake – 7. 2
- 2003 Bingol Earthquake – 6. 4
- 2011 Van Earthquake – 7. 2
- 2020 Elazig Earthquake – 6.8
- 2020 Izmir Earthquake – 6. 6
1939 Erzincan Earthquake
The Erzincan Earthquake, one of the first major disasters in the young Turkish Republic, took place on 27 December 1939 and had a magnitude of 7.9. In this earthquake, which was recorded as one of the biggest earthquakes not only in our country but also in the world, 33 thousand of our citizens lost their lives, 100 thousand of our citizens were injured, more than 116 thousand buildings were damaged and a great financial loss occurred.
1976 Çaldıran Earthquake
The center of the Çaldıran Earthquake that occurred on November 24, 1976 was the Muradiye district of Van. The earthquake, which took place at 12:22 am, had a magnitude of 7.5. With the temperature dropping to -17°C, 3,840 citizens lost their lives in this earthquake and nearly 10 thousand buildings were damaged. Considering the population and the number of buildings in the region, these figures paint a truly grim picture.
1999 Gölcük Earthquake
Gölcük Earthquake, one of the biggest earthquakes in our country, occurred on 17 August 1999. The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4, which started at 03:02 in the center of Gölcük, lasted exactly 45 seconds. The earthquake, which was felt in Istanbul, Ankara, even Izmir and the entire Marmara region, was recorded as the longest earthquake experienced in our country.
Unfortunately, the consequences of an earthquake of such a great magnitude and for such a long period of time were a real disaster. According to official figures, 17 thousand 118 citizens lost their lives and more than 25 thousand of our citizens were injured. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were damaged. The Parliamentary Research Report published in 2010 on the subject updated the death figures to 18,373.
1999 Düzce Earthquake
The Düzce Earthquake, which was caused by fault ruptures in the Gölcük Earthquake on August 17, 1999, occurred on November 12, 1999. The earthquake at 18:57 was 7.2 magnitude, lasted exactly 30 seconds and was felt in a wide area, including Ukraine.
In the Düzce Earthquake, 894 of our citizens lost their lives and 2 thousand 679 of our citizens were injured. The financial consequences of these two earthquakes in 1999 were also great. Nearly 20 thousand houses and workplaces were recorded as severely damaged by the Düzce Disaster and Emergency Directorate.
2003 Bingol Earthquake
The Bingol Earthquake, which occurred at 03:27 on May 1, 2003, had a magnitude of 6.4. In the earthquake, 176 citizens lost their lives and 625 buildings collapsed. Another 84 of our citizens lost their lives in a boarding school that was damaged during the earthquake and then collapsed.
2011 Van Earthquake
In fact, the effects of two different earthquakes were felt in the Van Earthquake, which is one of the biggest earthquakes affecting the east of our country. The first one occurred on October 23, 2011 at around 13:40 with a magnitude of 7.2. The second one took place on November 9, 2011 at around 21:20 with a magnitude of 5.6.
In these two earthquakes that occurred in areas very close to the city center of Van, 601 of our citizens lost their lives, nearly 2,000 of our citizens were injured and 252 of our citizens were rescued from the rubble with the efforts of the officials. The financial loss was enormous.
2020 Elazig Earthquake
The Elazig Earthquake, which occurred at 20:55 on January 24, 2020, at a point close to the Çevrimtaş village of Sivrice district of Elazig, had a magnitude of 6.8. In the earthquake in which 41 of our citizens lost their lives, 45 of our citizens were pulled out of the rubble with the efforts of the officials. The financial loss was enormous.
2020 Izmir Earthquake
The Izmir Earthquake, which we witnessed even the sea swell, occurred on October 30, 2020. The earthquake in the Seferihisar district of Izmir had a magnitude of 6.6. After the earthquake, in which 116 of our citizens lost their lives and more than a thousand of our citizens were injured, 3 thousand 630 aftershocks, some of which were more than 4 in intensity, were recorded.
We have listed the earthquakes that resulted in major disasters in our country. However, even the death of a single citizen should be considered a real disaster for us, lessons should be learned from history, and such disasters should be prevented by doing what is necessary as soon as possible.
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