Northwest Turkey was hit by two big earthquakes in 1999. The first one, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake which struck on August 17, killed more than 17,000 and left 600,000 people homeless. Around 1,000 people lost their lives when the second earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale struck on November 13. Thousands of buildings collapsed or were damaged beyond repair, increasing the severity of the loss of life.
Turkey Earthquakes of 1999
A four-year-old child is rescued from the rubble of the child's home after being trapped for 36 hours following an earthquake, Istanbul, August 19, 1999. (Reuters)
A woman lies trapped in rubble next to a companion as rescue workers try to dig her out of her collapsed home in Istanbul, August 17, 1999. (Reuters)
Turkish 3rd Army Corps soldiers attempt to lift rubble from the wreckage of a five-story apartment building in the Avcilar downtown district of Istanbul, August 20, 1999. (Reuters)
A bulldozer tears down a damaged building as part of clean up following the earthquake in the Turkish western city of Yalova, September 7, 1999. (AP)
Earthquake survivors with bicycles pass by collapsed buildings in the western Turkish city of Adapazari, September 7, 1999. (AP)
A young Turkish quake survivor holds empty saucepans waiting for food during a food distribution at a tent city near the northwest Turkish town of Duzce, January 26, 1999. (Reuters)
An earthquake victim stands next to the clothes hung to dry as snow falls at a tent city near the northwest Turkish town of Duzce, January 26, 1999. (Reuters)