Marmara Earthquake

Right after Marmara Earthquake in 1999, we got rapidly organized with 90 of our colleagues. In coordination with various international organizations, we gave trainings in post-trauma management methods. In close cooperation with NGOs in the region, our team provided post-trauma rehabilitation services for around two years.

The 1999 İzmit earthquake (also known as the Kocaeli or Gölcük earthquake) occurred on 17 August at 03:01:40 local time in northwesternTurkey. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The event lasted for 37 seconds, killing around 17,000 people and left approximately half a million people homeless. The nearby city of İzmit was very badly damaged.

The earthquake was heavily felt in this industrialized and densely populated urban area of the country, including oil refineries, several automotive plants, and the Turkish navy headquarters and arsenal in Gölcük, increasing the severity of the loss of life and property. The earthquake also caused considerable damage in Istanbul, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) away from the earthquake’s epicenter.[2]

An official Turkish estimate of October 19, 1999, placed the toll at 17,127 killed and 43,959 injured, but many sources suggest the actual figure may have been closer to 45,000 dead and a similar number injured