It is obvious what a price we, as Türkiye, have paid in the face of earthquakes that have caused hundreds of thousands of our people to die under rubble, cities to be destroyed and many indescribable pain throughout the history of the Republic.
With the series of articles we have prepared as Milli Gazete, we will discuss Türkiye's earthquake history and the process leading up to February 6, the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake that caused catastrophic destruction in 11 provinces, and the aftermath of the disaster.
PART 1
Our country has faced earthquakes many times, but no lessons were learned...
TURKIYE'S EARTHQUAKE HISTORY AND THE PROCESS LEADING TO FEBRUARY 6!
As a reality of our geography, Turkish lands have faced the reality of earthquakes many times throughout history. Due to its geographical location, our country is located on 3 major fault lines: the Northern Anatolian Fault Line, the Eastern Anatolian Fault Line and the Western Anatolian Fault Line.
In the first part of our article series, we will examine the earthquake history of the Republic of Türkiye in the period leading up to February 6.
Shortly after the establishment of the Republic, Türkiye faced the "Great Erzincan Earthquake" on December 27, 1939, and there have been 15 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher since 1939.
Many cities and settlements of Türkiye, which faced a great test in Erzincan with the loss of 33 thousand lives, were destroyed by earthquakes in the last hundred years.
The fact that no serious policy was implemented regarding the earthquakes, which caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and serious destruction during the process, reveals that there was great negligence in the February 6 Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake.
GREAT ERZİNCAN EARTHQUAKE
In the Great Erzincan Earthquake, one of the most disastrous earthquakes in the history of the Republic, there was a rupture in the North Anatolian Fault Line and an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 occurred.
Shortly after the Great Erzincan Earthquake, in which 33 thousand people lost their lives, 100 thousand people were injured and 116 thousand buildings collapsed, another rupture occurred in the North Anatolian Fault Line in 1942.
This time, a magnitude 7 earthquake occurred in Tokat Erbaa and 3 thousand of our citizens died here. A year later, on November 26, 1943, the Ladik Earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 occurred and 4 thousand people died.
THE EARTHQUAKE NEVER LET ITSELF TO BE FORGOTTEN
Years passed and earthquakes continued one after another in Türkiye. Earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 occurred in Bolu Gerede in 1944, magnitude 7.2 in Çanakkale Yenice in 1953, magnitude 7.1 in Muğla Fethiye in 1957, and magnitude 7 in Manyas in 1964.
These earthquakes, in which thousands of our citizens lost their lives, were also experienced due to ruptures in the Western Anatolian Fault Line. Türkiye, which could not take serious precautions despite all these earthquakes, woke up with the Varto Earthquake on August 19, 1966.
In the Varto Earthquake, which experienced two earthquakes, 2,408 people lost their lives and more than 1,500 people were injured. While the wounds of the Varto Earthquake were still healed, 7.2 magnitude Mudurnu earthquakes occurred in 1967 and 7.2 magnitude Gediz earthquakes occurred in 1970.
The Muradiye Earthquake, which was the most severe earthquake that Türkiye had ever experienced after the Erzincan Earthquake in 1939, occurred on November 24, 1976. Approximately 4 thousand people died and 500 people were injured in the Muradiye Earthquake, which was fought against the cold weather as well as the earthquake.
EARTHQUAKE YEAR 1999
One of the earthquakes that caused the greatest destruction in Türkiye occurred in Gölcük, Kocaeli, on August 17, 1999.
In the earthquake that had a magnitude of 7.4 and lasted exactly 45 seconds, 17 thousand 118 people died and nearly 25 thousand people were injured in Kocaeli, Gölcük, Düzce, Sakarya, Istanbul and Yalova.
Months after the Gölcük Earthquake, in which thousands of people lost their lives, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 occurred in Düzce on November 12, 1999.
With the impact of the Düzce Earthquake, in which 894 people died and approximately 3 thousand people were injured, and the severity of the Gölcük Earthquake, it became necessary to take effective steps for earthquake prevention in Türkiye.
At that time, the government took a new path regarding the earthquake, and various methods such as earthquake insurance and earthquake taxes were followed to prevent the destruction caused by the earthquake.
PRECAUTIONS TAKEN AGAINST EARTHQUAKE
Lack of control and incompetence, which are among Türkiye's biggest problems, also showed themselves in the earthquake. After the 1999 earthquakes, in which two major earthquakes occurred, the earthquake shook Türkiye again exactly 12 years later.
Serious destruction occurred again with the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Van on October 23, 2011. This earthquake, which occurred in Van, where major earthquakes had occurred before, revealed that Türkiye did not learn any lessons from the earthquake. After the disaster, in which 644 people lost their lives and more than 2,200 houses and workplaces were destroyed, the money collected and the steps taken for the earthquake started to come to the fore.
Although there was a serious public reaction to the Van earthquake, the reality of the earthquake in Türkiye continued to be ignored.
2020 ELAZIĞ AND IZMIR EARTHQUAKES
As the date showed January 24, 2020, news of an earthquake came from Elazığ in the evening.
In the earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8, 37 citizens in Elazığ and 4 in Malatya died and 1466 people were injured.
It was understood that the buildings collapsed in the Elazığ earthquake, which caused a lot of suffering, were rotten as a result of later examinations.
In other words, many buildings collapsed because there was not enough control, and dozens of our citizens fell victim to the earthquake due to lack of control.
As 2020 continued, on October 30, news of an earthquake came from Izmir.
After the 6.9 magnitude Izmir earthquake, a tsunami disaster occurred in Seferihisar.
As a result of the earthquake that caused serious destruction in Izmir, 117 people died and 34 people were injured.
After these two severe tests in 2020, the question of where the money collected for the earthquake was spent came to the agenda again.
TOMORROW PART 2: EARTHQUAKE THAT SWALLOWED 11 CITIES: WHAT HAPPENED ON FEBRUARY 6?