AN UNFORGETTABLE YEAR

There are many days in history that we can never forget even if so many years have passed.
If you ask your parents, they would definitely tell you that 17 August, 1999 is one of those days.
The earthquake, which occurred on the North Anatolian fault system, struck just after 3:00 AM local time.
The magnitude was 7.4 which is one of the biggest recorded in history.
It was followed by two moderate aftershocks on August 19 which made the situation even worse.
Almost 17.000 people were killed and 500.000 left homeless as thousands of buildings collapsed in many parts of Marmara Region.İzmit, Sakarya and İstanbul were the ones that were affected most among other cities.
Turkish Red Crescent, Turkish army and many international organizations were there to offer help to those who were injured or left homeless. The immediate support offered by Greece led to a thaw in the often-contentious relationship between the two neighboring countries.
Most of the casualties resulted from the residential buildings which caused public chaos and outcry against private contractors and engineers. Some contractors were even imprisoned because of their fatal faults.
Natural disasters like this have been happening throughout history. However, people are and will never be ready for them. Sadly, they will keep doing the same mistakes. They should be aware of the consequences in order to be well-prepared for such kind of a natural disaster.
They should have their buildings checked by the authorities first. Governments must be ready to help people really fast in case of an emergency. There must be enough number of people for rescue mission.
This is the only way to deal with the possible casualties. The risk is always there.