Major earthquakes in Turkey in the last 100 years… Thousands killed, cities razed

Turkey is a very active country in terms of seismic activities. Turkey is in the earthquake zone with the North Anatolian Fault Line, the east Anatolian Fault line and the West Anatolian Fault line within its borders. Down below are the major earthquakes that occurred in Turkey during the last hundred years…

1939 Erzincan earthquake

The 1939 Erzincan earthquake was a very severe earth tremor that occurred in Erzincan on 26-27 December 1939. A total of 32,962 people were killed and approximately 100,000 were injured as a result of the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.2 on the richter scale of 7.9 surface waves. As a result of the earthquake, 116,720 buildings were destroyed. This earthquake, which is considered to be one of the largest earthquakes in the world, has gone down in history as one of the most serious earthquake disasters in Turkey. One reason for the large number of casualties is that the aid reaches under difficult conditions due to the harsh winter conditions.

1999 Gölcük earthquake

It took place on the morning of August 17, 1999, local time 03:02 at Kocaeli/Gölcük (base). According to the Richter scale, the 7.5 Mw earthquake caused massive loss of life and property. August 17 earthquake was felt in the entire Marmara region, from Ankara to Izmir in a wide area. According to official reports, there were 17,480 deaths and 23,781 injuries. 505 people were injured. 285,211 homes and 42,902 businesses were damaged.

According to unofficial information, there have been around 50,000 dead and close to 100,000 injured, heavy and light. In addition, about 600,000 people have been left homeless, with 133,683 collapsed buildings. Approximately 16,000,000 people were affected by the earthquake at varying levels. It is therefore one of the most important events that deeply affected Turkey’s recent history. The earthquake is one of the largest earthquakes of the last century, both in terms of magnitude, the breadth of the area it affects, and the material losses it causes.

1976 Çaldıran earthquake

7.5 Ms magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was in Çaldıran Van occurred on November 24, 1976 at 12:22 local time. 3840 people died and 9232 buildings were damaged. 80% of the houses in an area of 2,000 square kilometers were destroyed.

In addition to the earthquake, there were also deaths due to freezing in the region as the nighttime air temperature dropped to -17 degrees. Rescue and relief efforts were delayed due to rain and snow. It is the most severe earthquake in Anatolia since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 Ms.

1999 Düzce: Düzce earthquake had an instrumental magnitude of 7.2 and an epicenter at 18.57 pm on Friday, November 12, 1999 . The quake, which was effective for 30 seconds, was felt in many provinces. The death toll is 845, the number of injured was 4948, the number of buildings damaged in the earthquake and needed to be demolished immediately is 3395, the number of houses damaged or badly damaged 12939, and the number of workplaces is 2450.

Other earthquakes: 17 August 1999 Gölcük earthquake (Izmit earthquake and Marmara earthquake), 1998 Adana-Ceyhan earthquake, 1992 Erzincan earthquake,  1983 Erzurum earthquake, 1976 Çaldıran earthquake, 1975 lice earthquake, 1971 Bingöl earthquake, 1970 Gediz earthquake, 1966 Varto earthquake