Balgarianovinite.com The 27th anniversary of the deadly 1999 earthquake is being marked since Sunday night with memorial events in Istanbul and other cities in Türkiye’s Marmara region.
On August 17, 1999, at 3:02 AM, an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale hit the Marmara region with Istanbul as its main city. The earthquake had devastating consequences across a wide area, including the regions Sakarya, Kocaeli, Yalova, Düzce, Gölcük and Adapazari. Thousands of people lost their lives, tens of thousands were injured and numerous buildings were destroyed.
The earthquake, with its epicentre in the town of Gölcük in Kocaeli Province, left a deep scar on Türkiye’s modern history.
According to data contained in a 2010 report by the parliamentary committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Meclis) on investigating earthquake risk and determining the necessary measures for managing such disasters, 17,480 people died and 43,953 were injured in the August 1999 earthquake. A total of around 16 million people were affected, with their homes destroyed or damaged, and 42,000 commercial premises were also damaged.
In Istanbul 1880 people were injured, nearly 41 000 homes and commercial premises were damaged and 18 162 housing units became uninhabitable due to moderate to severe damage. A total of 820 of 3171 schools in the city were affected, 118 of which were classified as having sustained moderate damage, and 13 – as severely damaged. Out of nearly 10,000 public buildings in Istanbul, 1,137 sustained minor damage, 387 sustained moderate damage, and 37 sustained severe damage.
Avcilar, a city densely populated by Bulgarian-Turk expats, was the most affected region from the Istanbul earthquake – 270 people lost their lives and hundreds were injured. Over 2 000 homes and businesses were completely destroyed and nearly 6 000 were moderately damaged. At the same time Avcilar has been recently undergoing a major transformation as part of the national Urban Transformation Project, implemented by the municipality, the government’s Housing Development Administration (TOKİ), ministries and other institutions.
A memorial meeting, initiated by Avcilar Municipality, began on Monday at 2:30 AM in front of the Atatürk monument on the main boulevard. The meeting was attended by municipal councillors, volunteers from rescue services and citizens holding posters with the slogans “We will not forget” “We want safe homes” and “It’s the buildings that kill, not the earthquakes”.
At 3:02 AM, at the exact time of the 1999 earthquake, a moment of silence was held to honor the memory of those who lost their lives, and red carnations were laid at the monument.
In the town of Sakarya, close to the epicentre of the earthquake, a memorial vigil was held in the central Democracy Square, attended by many people, according to the local newspaper Sakarya Haber. A prayer for the deceased and passages from the Quran were recited.
Sakarya Governor Rahmi Dogan said in a message, posted on the municipality’s website, that August 17 is a date, on which they not only pay tribute to the citizens who lost their lives or were injured in the earthquake, but also a date that guides them in their efforts to build a safe future for themselves and their children with the knowledge that Türkiye is situated in an earthquake-prone zone.
The 27th anniversary of the earthquake is also marked in Edirne with memorial events under the slogan “The longest 45 seconds”, led by the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
“The longest 45 seconds, which we experienced on August 17 twenty-seven years ago will never be erased from our memory and hearts, it’s like it was yesterday. At the commemorative events we organize on the central Saraçlar Boulevard we honor not only the citizens who lost their lives but also the efforts of our heroic teams who worked selflessly at the scene”, said Edirne Mayor Filiz Gencan, quoted by the BATI Express website.
The commemorative events include a photo exhibition featuring pictures of the work carried out by the rescue teams from Edirne in the earthquake-affected areas.
The famous Turkish geologist, Prof. Osman Bektas, said after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia on August 14 that major earthquakes can induce temporary dynamic stress on distant faults via the seismic waves they emit. According to him, this physical mechanism, known as remote earthquake triggering, must also be taken into account when assessing seismic risk in the Marmara region, reports the website Ekonomi Manset.
“We cannot foresee the earthquakes completely but we can reduce the risk by assessing the likelihood from a scientific point of view. Istanbul must be prepared for a major earthquake”, the scientist adds. Anniversary of Deadly 1999 Earthquake Observed with Memorial Events in Istanbul and Other Cities 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-17 09:11:17 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law