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Izmit (Kocaeli) Turkey Earthquake, August 17, 1999-Set 2, Structural Damage |
| On August 17, 1999, a magnitude Mw 7.4 earthquake occurred along the westernmost North Anatolian fault. The earthquake epicenter was 11 km southeast of the City of Izmit, in the sub-province of Kocaeli, a densely populated area in the industrial heartland of Turkey, and less than 80 km southeast of Istanbul. The earthquake damaged buildings across seven provinces for a distance of 250 km from Istanbul to Bolu. Casualties totaled 17,000 and additional thousands were missing and presumed dead. Injuries numbered 23,984 and an estimated 500,000 people were left homeless with 200,000 living on the streets. Damage estimates range from $10 billion to $40 billion. The fault crossed some of the most densely populated regions of Turkey. The affected population numbered 15 million people. The economics of the damaged region represented ten percent of the GNP of Turkey. This area of Turkey will continue to be active in a seismic sense, and appropriate steps need to be taken now to minimize the effects and fatalities of the next earthquake. |
Duzce | |
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Duzce is east of Sakarya/Adapazari. It was struck by a second earthquake (Mw 7.1) on November 12, 1999, that killed at least 619 people. Between Adapazari and Duzce. The brick structure on the right performed well. The reinforced concrete frame brick-infilled building slid into the brick structure causing "blunt" damage. (This photograph was taken through a car window.) |
Sakarya/Adapazari | |
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Sakarya is to the east of Izmit, north of Arifiye, and west of Duzce. The provincial capital of Sakarya is Adapazari. The ground floor of this brick infill building was occupied. Note how the concrete in two of the columns has disintegrated. The rest of the columns were able to carry the redistributed load. |
Sakarya/Adapazari | |
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Sakarya is to the east of Izmit, north of Arifiye, and west of Duzce. The provincial capital of Sakarya is Adapazari. The structure in the center was heavily damaged, losing most of the brick infill. The first, and probably the second story, collapsed in this structure. |
Sakarya/Adapazari | |
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Sakarya is to the east of Izmit, north of Arifiye, and west of Duzce. The provincial capital of Sakarya is Adapazari. The bottom of a mat foundation of a tipped building (right side of photograph). This type of foundation is made by pouring concrete over a mat of pebbles. The soil has failed due to liquefaction. |
Sakarya/Adapazari | |
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Sakarya is to the east of Izmit, north of Arifiye, and west of Duzce. The provincial capital of Sakarya is Adapazari. The whole building collapsed due to soil failure (liquefaction) and a first story collapse. The collapse totally blocked the road. The brick structure remained intact with no observable cracking. Note that surrounding buildings appear undamaged. |
Sakarya/Adapazari | |
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Sakarya is to the east of Izmit, north of Arifiye, and west of Duzce. The provincial capital of Sakarya is Adapazari. A three-story wood-frame structure built in the early 1900s. The ground floor received the heaviest damage. The gentleman with the blue coat and white hat is the owner. Before the earthquake, he was planning to renovate the structure. |
TEM-Arifiye | |
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TEM is the Trans-European Motorway. This section leads from Izmit towards Arifiye and just south of Sakarya/Adapazari. Demolition crews are removing the collapsed Arifiye overpass that crosses the TEM (Trans-European Motorway). It used to be a four span overpass. The view is looking at the south abutment that is a natural abutment, and is not composed of artificial fill. |
Kocaeli/Izmit | |
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Kocaeli/Izmit. This column damage occurred in one plant of a four-plant complex at the Aksoy aluminum shaping factory near Izmit. The structure was a prefabricated, concrete-frame structure. It was under construction; the prefabricated beams were connected to the columns. This site is only a few kilometers to the north of the surface trace of the fault rupture. |
Yuvacik | |
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Yuvacik is south of Izmit and east of Golcuk. It was almost on top of the epicenter. The fault passes beneath this primary school building at Yuvacik. The permanent offset at this location is about one meter. The building is reinforced concrete frame construction with brick infill walls. Note that the brick walls do not seem to be joined at the corner. Children taking cover under the table would have been protected from injury. |
Golcuk | |
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Golcuk is west of Yuvacik and east of Yuzbasilar. Entering Golcuk from the east. This former gas station has been demolished, as has a lift slab structure on the left that pancaked. The view is to the north. (This photograph was taken through a car window.) |
Golcuk | |
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Golcuk is west of Yuvacik and east of Yuzbasilar. The view shows a four-story structure (foreground debris) that was under construction in Golcuk. The first story may have been occupied. The beam-column connections were supposed to transfer moment to the columns. A full hinging may have occurred all around and an unstable mechanism was formed. Note the undamaged building (background), which also was under construction. |
Golcuk | |
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Golcuk is west of Yuvacik and east of Yuzbasilar. These are floor slabs that have tipped over with some of the wall supports still attached. This was a five or six story reinforced concrete frame structure in Golcuk. |
Golcuk | |
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Golcuk is west of Yuvacik and east of Yuzbasilar. A mosque with a leaning minaret, in Golcuk. The fault scarp is running in a north-south direction, with almost no lateral displacement, but with 70-80 cm of vertical offset. The dome had jumped from the support columns and had "flown" over the pulpit. This fault is possibly a connecting secondary fault between two east-west faults. Note the surface rupture near the gate. |
Golcuk | |
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Golcuk is west of Yuvacik and east of Yuzbasilar. There were no casualties in this building because it was not yet occupied when the earthquake occurred. The building was a seven-story reinforced concrete frame structure with hollow-brick infill. The columns supporting the floors failed and the structure pancaked. |
Yuzbasilar | |
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Yuzbasilar is west of Golcuk and east of Degirmendere. The fault passed underneath this building that was under construction. The southern part of the building lost its first story. |
Yuzbasilar | |
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Yuzbasilar is west of Golcuk and east of Degirmendere. There were probably four or five buildings of five or six story height in this area of Yuzbasilar. Looking at the debris, they seem to have been fully occupied at the time of the quake. Most deaths occurred in these situations. |
Degirmendere | |
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Degirmendere is west of Yuzbasilar and east of Halidere. Looking south along the coast at Degirmendere. The road was totally blocked by a collapsed structure behind the tree. Note the heavy tilt of the structure in the foreground on the right caused by a partial failure of the first floor. |
Ulasli | |
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Ulasli is to the east of Halidere and before Karamursel. Settlement along the road, close to the shore at Ulasli. Note the rupture along the center of the street. (This photograph was taken through a car window.) |
Yalova | |
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Yalova is west of Karamursel. Many summer resorts in the area sustained heavy damage. Total collapse of a four-story unit in Ceylankent, near Yalova. Note that the buildings on the left and right appear to be relatively undamaged. Few people would survive this type of collapse. |
Karamursel | |
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Karamursel is between Ulasli and Yalova. A collapsed first floor at the Kolayli summer resort. Note the clothesline on the third floor balcony. |