Ismet, Turkey after the 1999 earthquake
from Engineering in Damage Control

On August 17, 1999, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake shook Ismet, Turkey. The town's buildings weren't engineered to withstand shaking, and most of them collapsed, killing more than 17,000 people. In contrast, in 2003, a much stronger 8.1 quake hit Hokkaido, Japan, where structures are built to strict seismic standards. The death toll there: 1.
Photo: USGS



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