User:Bcmcelwee03/1999 İzmit earthquake

Article Evaluation
The leading sentence grabs attention, and the opening is short and concise, including key summary information. It could possibly benefit from a few more details about the event, like the tsunami and affected area. For such a devastating event there should be more photos of damages, at least one photo of a rescue operation, and maps of the largely affected area. There could also be more information about the tsunami that was created by the earthquake, or a link to another article that covers it. The introduction of this article has too many sentence fragments and unfortunately this style of run-on sentence fragments continues for the rest of the article. Also, this article failed to include where the epicenter of the earthquake was and how close it is to the city of Izmit.

There are brief explanation of where the data came from, but some data used in the article still needs a direct source. For example, the explanation of number of houses damaged from the earthquake that was "poorly engineered" does not have a direct source and only suggests that the data is from the reports published on September of 1999. If there is more information on how the buildings and houses were "poorly engineered," it would be better to understand the reasons of high number of fatality. With specifics on the structure of buildings, it could also be helpful when comparing difference in human reaction and fatality by similar strength earthquake that occurred in different area. The article could also be better if there was more elaboration on reasons or main causes of death from Izmit earthquake. Without the specific main reasons, readers might assume that causes of death is only due to direct earthquake shock. However, causes of death in earthquakes could also be the aftershocks, fire due to the earthquake or tsunami.

Geological explanation on why Avcılar district had the most damage is easy to understand and the sources are also reliable.

Many connected links no longer exist.

"Greece was the first earthquake to offer assistance to Turkey which helped ease relations between the two countries" -- This sentence doesnt make sense

Draft Ideas

 * Add information about technicalities of earthquake
 * Add more information about the consequential tsunami of the earthquake (it was more significant than original article makes it seem)
 * Re-format the lead
 * Future risk of earthquakes caused by North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ).

Lead
During the summer of 1999, Turkey was hit by a series of earthquakes. The mainshock occurred on August 17th, with it's Epicenter located in İzmit, at a magnitude of 7.6, and maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (violent). The shaking lasted 37 seconds, causing great damage to the area and many casualties.

The 1999 seism was one of a series along the North Anatolian Fault as it has resumed movement in 1939- causing large earthquakes trending East to West over the course of 60 years.

Earthquake
The depth of the seism is estimated at around 10-16km deep. The right-lateral offsets caused by the initial rupture as deep as 4.2m below the surface. The 1999 rupture was one of many along the 1000km rupture zone of the North Anatolian fault. The region of Marmara is identified as a seismic gap; meaning, it is prone to many earthquakes but has briefly paused seismic activity.

See also: GSA Today

Damages and Casualties
Populations are dense along the coast of Marmara, making them more susceptible to earthquake and tsunami damage.

Tsunami
The earthquake caused a series of tsunami s in the Sea of Marmara that ranged from about 1 to 2.5 meters high. The two tsunami waves caused the deaths of 155 people, houses were flooded, and boats, mussles, and people were displaced. The areas with most damages include; Kirazliyali, Sirinyali, Yarimca, Korfez, and Tupras. In some households in Kiraziyali specifically, raised sea floor reached the second floor of houses and flooded basements, which led to costly household damages. Additionally in Sirinyali, seabed materials were carried by the waves into homes, breaking their windows and doors.

Future Risk
Istanbul, the most populated city in Turkey, lies along the North Anatolian Fault line as well, making it at very high risk to an earthquake disaster. Following the seism in 1999, there was a great urgency for the government to mitigate these risks. With the help of organizations like the World Bank, hundreds of buildings have been retrofitted and reconstructed, and thousands of citizens have been trained in disaster preparedness.