Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Reconnaissance of the August 17, 1999 Izmit Earthquake

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract 9987829 A magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurred on August 17, 1999 in the area of Izmit, Turkey, 60 km to the east of Istanbul, resulting in extensive damage, injuries and loss of life. This earthquake occurred along the North Anatolian fault, a strike slip fault that has many similarities to the San Andreas fault in California. This action provides partial support for a 14-member reconnaissance team that was dispatched shortly after the earthquake to document the geotechnical, engineering geology/seismology, and tsunamigenic features of this earthquake in as much detail as possible. This team coordinated with other reconnaissance teams from Turkey, Japan and the United States. As with all post-earthquake reconnaissance investigations, it is expected that vital records and data will become available as a result of this earthquake in Turkey. From a scientific viewpoint, these large earthquakes act as full scale experiments that cannot be duplicated via controlled experiments in the laboratory or in the field. It is through quick response reconnaissance efforts that the mostly-ephemeral data from these events can be recovered and used to further advances in earthquake hazard mitigation. The results from this investigation are expected to yield information and data that will help the profession to understand the effects of large-scale strike slip fault systems on urbanized and industrial areas. This is a multi-institutional award involving the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Southern California.