Turkey marks 21 years since catastrophic Marmara earthquake
The 1999 magnitude 7.5 quake in Turkey’s most industrial and densely populated region killed 17,480 people and left 600,000 people homeless.
The Marmara Earthquake, which took place on 17 August 1999 at 03.02 with a magnitude of 7.4 and lasted 45 seconds, caused destruction in Kocaeli, Sakarya, Istanbul, Düzce and Yalova.
Turkey marked 21 years since a devastating earthquake in the Marmara region claimed over 17,000 lives.
The quake on August 17, 1999 caused around $36 billion in economic losses, according to the Connected Business Initiative's Turkey platform.
During a commemoration ceremony in Istanbul Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said, "During 1999, we only had 50 earthquake observation stations. Today, Turkey has Europe's second-largest observation network with 1,100 observation stations."
The magnitude 7.5 quake struck Turkey's most industrial and densely populated region killed 17,480 people.
Over 285,000 buildings were damaged and 600,000 were left homeless by the 45-second quake.
#17Ağustos1999 depremi #Gölcük Dumlupınar Mahallesi ve mahallenin 21 yıl sonraki hali. pic.twitter.com/cx69EUdpEX
— Kocaeli Büyükşehir (@kocaelibld) August 16, 2020
Nearly 500 killed in Istanbul
According to government data, 454 people had lost their lives in Istanbul, Turkey's financial hub.
A total of 1,880 people were injured in Istanbul, nearly 41,000 residences and workplaces were damaged and 18,162 houses became uninhabitable due to moderate and severe damage.
More than 800 schools in the province were also damaged.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.