Earthquakes in the Marmara Region in the second half of the XVIII. century

The North Anatolian Fault, the active zone in the Marmara Region, splits into three branches before reaching the Sea of Marmara, causing large, shallow, and destructive earthquakes. It is known that, in the second half of the XVIIIth century many earthquakes happened and some caused heavy damage and loss of life. During this period, in particular the 1752 Thrace, 1754 Marmara, and 1766 Istanbul earthquakes caused destruction in the region. In the Thrace earthquake of July 30, 1752, the heaviest damage occurred in Edirne and its surroundings and more than one hundred people lost their lives. The earthquake in the Gulf of Izmit on September 2, 1754, caused heavy damage in the region. Although there is no clear information about losses, some sources quote the numbers fifty, sixty, and eight hundred. The most severe earthquakes in the second half of the XVIIIth century were the Istanbul earthquakes of May 22–23 and August 5, occurring two and half months apart in 1766. The first of these earthquakes caused the heaviest damage in Istanbul, with about 4,000–5,000 deaths. The second one caused severe damage and many deaths, especially between Tekirdağ and Mürefte. After this earthquake, severe damage was also recorded, especially in Samatya, Galata, Gallipoli, Izmit, Yalova, Midilli, Edirne, Çanakkale, Kadıköy, Gaziköy, Hoşköy, and Söğüt. In addition, the stone structures damaged in the earthquake in Istanbul in May were either destroyed or heavily damaged in this second earthquake.