Historical disasters

2.5. Turkey

Turkey is located in one of the most actively deforming regions in the world. The tectonic in and around Turkey depends on relative motions among the African, the Aegean, the Arabian, the Anatolian, the Black Sea and the Eurasian plates.

The neotectonics of Turkey is directed by three major elements :

1) The Aegean–Cyprean Arc, a convergent plate boundary where the African Plate to the south is subducting beneath the Anatolian Plate to the north;

2) The North Anatolian Fault Zone;

3) The East Anatolian Fault Zone

61% of the natural disasters in Turkey is Earthquakes .

From past to now, a lot of major earthquakes occurred in our lands. The biggest earthquake which occurred in Turkey was 8 magnitude. It was occurred in Antakya.This is the major eathquakes list.

MAJOR EARTHQUAKES

Antakya (Antioch) Earthquake, 115 CE The most damaging earthquake in Turkey was on December13,115.Approximately 260,000 people lost their lives in the 7.5 magnitude earthquake.This earthquake is one of the more famous of the ancient times, because it hit a major city of the Roman Empire and the emperor Trajan was in the city when happened.   Antioch(Antakya) and surrounding areas were devastated with a great loss of life and property. It was felt all over the near East and the Eastern Mediterranean .

29 March, 526 Antioch Earthquake

The estimated magnitude for the earthquake is 7.0 .It was followed by 18 months of aftershocks. The city was very crowded because a lot of visitors come to celebrate Ascension Day.

Since it was the time of dinner a lot of people were in their home or inside areas more than 250.000 people died in this earthquake. The earthquake was followed by a fire that destroyed most of the buildings left standing by the earthquake.

This number is a terrible figure for that period,because it is the biggest disasters in the history of the World.

The earthquake caused severe damage to many of the buildings in Antioch.Only houses built close to the mountain are said to have survived. Most of the damage however, was a result of the fires that went on for many days in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, made worse by the wind.The Great Church was destroyed by the fire seven days after the earthquake.

Istanbul Earthquakes in the Middle Ages

Severe earthquakes that took place on 19 October and 14-23 December 554 in Istanbul, followed by the aftershocks that followed, gave the Byzantines 40 days of great fear.

Many churches were destroyed by the walls and Hebdemon (Bakırköy) and the dome of Hagia Sophia was damaged.

In the violent earthquake of 740 the Hagia Irini church was damaged;

The ephemeral tremors of 869 also lasted forty days at intervals. The Byzantines thought that earthquakes were a punishment sent against the sins they committed. They tried to prevent earthquakes through various rituals, ceremonies and rituals, and also organized religious special memorial anniversaries and made them part of the liturgical (religious) calendar. Along with few, some Byzantines influenced by Aristotle's theory believed that earthquakes were caused by natural causes (movement of underground winds)

Anatolian-Syria-Aleppo Earthquake (1138):

It is estimated that more than 200.000 people have died in this severe earthquake that erupted in Aleppo on 11 October 1138. In addition to Anatolia, the great earthquake in Syria has also caused the city of Aleppo to be destroyed. It is known as one of the most deadly earthquakes in the history of the world.

Istanbul Earthquake(1509)( small apocalypse)

Istanbul has been exposed to a great number of depressions throughout history, some of which are severe.

Because this city is located on major fault lines.

This earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 magnitude

It caused great destruction, loss of life and fear, became a small apocalypse (apocalypse) and took place on 22 August 1509; Aftershocks continued throughout the next year. This earthquake, which broke the Marmara fault line along the length of the sea, felt a very wide area from Anatolia and Egypt to Greece and Austria. This earthquake, which is the center of the Marmara Sea and has effect on the area from İzmit to Tekirdağ.It took place on May 22, 1776 after the second day of religious day of muslims. the earthquake that took place in a terrible noisy meeting, strong fluctuations (tsunami) occurred in the Bosphorus.  After this great earthquake, in the Ottoman capital 1767, 1768, 1769, 1771, 1790, 1802, 1804, 1837, 1841 (severe) and 1855, respectively, experienced severe earthquakes and minor damage and loss of lives. On the other hand, in 1789 III. Selim ordered the building not to be built too high in the capital.

Istanbul (Marmara) Earthquake (1894): This eartquake occured on July 12th.It was 7 magnitude.1349 people died in this earthquake.At the request of Abdulhamit, Egnitis, the Director of the Athens Observatory, and Kumbari, the Director of the Observatory, prepared a scientific report on the disaster and sangayat. On the other hand, after the earthquake, the first seismological observatory of the Ottoman State was established.Professor Agamemnone, geodynamic expert from Rome, came to Istanbul to work with the Director of the Observatory, Coumbary and was involved in seismology studies. The results of the earthquake disasters were sometimes tried to be shown lightly by the state administrations. As a matter of fact, II. Abdülhamit also applied censorship to the press on earthquake news. 1894 catastrophe Even though it is not the biggest earthquake in Istanbul, the Byzantine daylm carries the title of "last violent earthquake". It is also the most studied and researched earthquake in Istanbul between the 30 earthquakes leading to the loss of life and property.

THE BIGGEST EARTHQUAKES IN TURKEY in the last Century

1-1939 Erzincan Earthquake

2-1944 Bolu Gerede Earthquake

3-1983 Earthquake in Erzurum

4-1999 Gölcük Earthquake – Izmit

5-1999 Düzce Earthquake – Bolu

6-2011 Van Earthquake7-2017 Çanakkale Eartquakes

1939 Erzincan Earthquake;

Among the earthquakes that lived in the Anatolian lands, the disaster of Erzincan in 1939 has a special place. That year, the number of dead reached 33.oo0 in Erzincan, which is one of the places that connects December 26 to December 27. This earthquake magnitude was 8.

This earthquake, considered one of the great earthquakes in the world, .It was the most serious and devastating earthquake disasters in Turkey. Both Erzincan and the other 11 cities was affected from that earthquake and big losses took place.During the earthquake, the city's railway bridge was destroyed, the telegraph lines were broken, and the entire relationship with Erzincan's surroundings was completely cut off. So the earthquake can be learned after hours. After the repair of the destroyed bridges, the aid teams could only enter the city on the 28th of December.1944 Bolu Gerede Earthquake; On February 1, 1944, a total of 3 thousand 959 people were killed, 182 people were injured and 9 thousand 422 buildings were destroyed as a result of the earthquake of 7.4 magnitude according to Richter scale in and around Bolu.

1983 Erzurum Earthquake, on October 30, 1983, caused massive damage to Erzurum a significant loss of life 155 thousand people died, 537 people were injured, 3 thousand 241 houses were heavy, 3 thousand houses were medium and 4 thousand houses were slightly damaged and more than 30 animals were lost in this earthquake of 6.9 magnitude

1999 Gölcük Earthquake; Gölcük Earthquake, Izmit Earthquake or Marmara Earthquake, took place in the morning of 17 August 1999 at 03:02 local time. Kocaeli Gölcük-based earthquake of 7.5 magnitude, caused large-scale loss of life and property. August 17 Earthquake was felt in the entire Marmara Region, from Ankara to Izmir. According to official reports, 17 thousand 840 people were killed and 43 thousand 935 people were injured. 505 people were disabled. 285 thousand 211 housing, 42 thousand 902 business sites were damaged.

1999 Düzce Earthquake; This earthquake, which lasted for about 30 seconds and had a magnitude of 7.2, took place on the segment of the northern limb of the North Anatolian Fault that caused the August 17, 1999 earthquake. November 12, 1999 earthquake, the breakdown of August 17, the eastern part of the Düzce fault triggered development.

After 87 days of the Marmara Earthquake, a second earthquake was unseen in the history of the world while trying to hug the earthquake. This time the epicenter was the center base Düzce. When Time 18: 57 showed, Düzce was shaken by a powerful blow, almost within 30 seconds it became a place. Earthquake, while Kaynaşlı place, the loss of life and property in a part of Bolu caused

2011 Van Earthquake: One of the major earthquakes in Turkey that has survived to the present day and cost a lot of people lives in Van on 23 October. 604 people lost their lives in the earthquake, which is the center of Ercis, which is 7.2 times the size of the center, and 222 people were rescued right from the wreckage. While trying to hug the massive earthquake wounds, this time a second earthquake of 5.6 magnitude centered on Edremit on November 9th. Thirty-two people lost their lives in this earthquake, and 30 people were removed from under the debris to the right.