Turkey Hit by Major Earthquake
October 24
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake in eastern Turkey on October 23 left at least 520 people dead and more than 1,000 others injured. The cities of Ercis and Van, near Turkey’s border with Iran, were particularly hard hit, with nearly 1,000 buildings destroyed in the disaster zone. More than 200 aftershocks shook the area through the night, reported the Turkish Seismic Institute. The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers continue to search beneath the ruins of collapsed buildings.
Residents of Sakarya in western Turkey pass by buildings toppled by a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey on Aug. 17, 1999, killing nearly 20,000 people. © AP/Wide World
The epicenter of the earthquake, which took place 12 miles (20 kilometers) below ground, was 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Van. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on two major geological fault lines, the North and East Anatolian faults. In 1999, two earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 7 resulted in the deaths of nearly 20,000 people in densely populated parts of the northwest Turkey.
Additional World Book articles:
- Moment magnitude
- Plate tectonics
- Seismology
- When the Earth Moves (a special report)
- Back in Time (Turkey 1999)
