The first of the 1957 Fethiye earthquakes occurred on April 24, 1957, with the second and larger event about seven hours later on the following day. Both
earthquakes had
epicentres in the eastern Mediterranean between
Rhodes and the coastal city of
Fethiye in
Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey.
Tectonics
As noted by a scientist from
Istanbul Technical University, the
tectonics of the
Aegean Region
The Aegean Region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya.
Located in w ...
of Turkey, which incorporates many
faults, produces earthquakes frequently. The quakes can reach magnitudes up to 7.2 with
aftershock
In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...
s of 5.1. A
geological fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
in the southern part of the region stretches from the
Greek island of
Rhodes northeastwards to
Burdur and passes close to the vicinity to Fethiye.
Earthquake characteristics
The first earthquake hit at 21:17 hours local time on April 24, 1957 and lasted 25 seconds having a magnitude of 7.1 on the
moment magnitude scale; a stronger second quake occurred at 04:26 hours on April 25; this one lasted for 60 seconds and had a magnitude of 7.3.
The earthquakes also shook many locations around Fethye, the
epicenter, including
Isparta
Isparta is a city in western Turkey and the capital of Isparta Province. The city's population was 222,556 in 2010 and its elevation is 1035 m. It is known as the "City of Roses".
Isparta is well-connected to other parts of Turkey via roads. Ant ...
,
Burdur,
Tefenni
Tefenni is a town in Burdur Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian P ...
,
Acıpayam
Acıpayam is a town and a rural district of Denizli Province in high country between the Aegean Region, Turkey, Aegean and Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean regions of Turkey. A plain, watered by two reservoirs, known for growing melons a ...
,
Denizli
Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...
,
Nazilli,
Aydın
Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of B ...
,
Yatağan
The yatagan, yataghan or ataghan (from Turkish language, Turkish ''yatağan''), also called varsak, is a type of Ottoman Empire, Ottoman knife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th centuries.
The yatagan was extensively used in Otto ...
,
Milas,
Bodrum,
Ödemiş,
Muğla
Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dista ...
,
Marmaris,
Köyceğiz,
Kaş and
Finike as well as the Greek islands of
Kos,
Symi
Symi, also transliterated as Syme or Simi ( el, Σύμη), is a Greek island and municipality. It is mountainous and includes the harbor town of Symi and its adjacent upper town Ano Symi, as well as several smaller localities, beaches, and areas o ...
and
Rhodes.
Damage and casualties
Around 1,500 structures, including public buildings such as schools, hospital, prison,
gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
station,
community health center and city hall, were damaged. The number of affected people was around 8,000. A section of the harbor quay broke away and sank into the sea, and asphalt road surfaces split and cracked. The earthquake ruined almost the entire city, with 90% of buildings being damaged.
Thanks to the strict evacuation order of the district governor Nazif Okuş after the first quake, the number of dead remained at only 19 for the city and the villages around with a total population of around 60,000.
According to another source, a total of 67 people were killed, 27 in the city and in its villages, 40 in the surrounding districts.
Telecommunications were interrupted as the telephone lines broke, but communications were restored two days later by the use of
field telephones.
Aftermath
The first actual relief came on April 26 from the
Turkish Red Crescent
Turkish Red Crescent (Turkish: ''Türk Kızılay'' (official) or ''Kızılay'' (for short)) is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkey and is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
The organization was founded i ...
( tr, Kızılay) with 2,500 blankets, 1,350
tent
A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using gu ...
s and a
field hospital. President
Celal Bayar Celal is both a masculine Turkish given name and a surname. It is the Turkish form of the Arabic word Jalal (جلال), which means "majesty". Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Celal Al (born 1984), Turkish actor
* Celal Esat Arsev ...
, Prime Minister
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He ...
and high government officials visited the disaster region on April 28.
Wreck removal works were hampered by uninterrupted rainfall.
On April 29, the destroyer , a warship of the
British Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...
delivered 2,000 blankets, 500 tents, medicine and food to the earthquake victims in Fethiye.
Commemoration
In 2013, the mayor of Fethiye held a commemoration event featuring a photography exhibition.
References
External links
1957 Fethiye earthquakeon
YouTube
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fethiye 1957
1957 Fethiye
1957 earthquakes
1957 in Turkey
History of Muğla Province
Fethiye
April 1957 events in Asia
1957 disasters in Turkey