Investigation of the August 9, 1912 Mürefte-Şarköy earthquake (Ms 7.4) in terms of disaster management

The 9 August 1912 Mürefte-Şarköy earthquake (Ms=7.4) occurred along the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ). The earthquake that occurred affected a wide area, especially Şarköy, Mürefte, Tekirdağ, Çanakkale, Gallipoli, Istanbul, Çorlu, Çatalca, Limni Island, Balıkesir, İzmir, Kocaeli, Romania, Greece and France. . Recent earth science studies have revealed that earthquake fault rupture extends not only to the Ganos Fault Segment, as previously thought, but also to the Middle Basin of the Sea of Marmara. This earthquake especially affected Şarköy and Mürefte and almost all of the buildings in these settlements became unusable. In the earthquake region, approximately 1115 people lost their lives, including 707 in Mürefte and 183 in Şarköy. In this study, the effects of the earthquake were compiled from the works of Sadi (1912), Ambraseys and Finkel (1987) and the Mürefte District District Governor's report was also included. Reported impacts on damaged buildings, casualties, and injuries were compared. Although these sources give different figures, it is concluded that Mürefte and Şarköy districts are the most affected settlements, and that the effects are relatively moderate in the central settlements of Tekirdağ and Çanakkale provinces. The impact in Gallipoli district is classified as heavy and moderate. The spatial distribution of the observed heavy impacts, a long but narrow area along the fault rupture, was associated with the faulting characteristic of the NAFZ, reflecting the hazard's role in losses. This situation has been interpreted as the role of danger on losses. Although located along the fault, less impact in Gallipoli district compared to Mürefte and Şarköy districts along the fault was interpreted as the effect of distance to the hazard or fault and ground conditions, suggesting the role of physical exposure and vulnerability on total losses. State-owned structures are strategically important structures in the context of managing the post-disaster crisis during a disaster. However, the Government House, Hospital, Gendarmerie Station, School etc. used by the state were among the structures that suffered the most damage from the earthquake. The fact that the earthquake heavily damaged government offices had a psychological effect on people. Due to the damage to the telegraph lines that would provide communication after the earthquake, sufficient information flow could not be provided to the necessary places. Although there were problems, the administrators of the Ottoman Empire made great efforts to manage the disaster process in the light of the information received. The authorities visited the disaster areas informed the government centre through the limited number of communication tools and help was requested. This interruption in the flow of information also shows the importance of an uninterrupted communication system after a disaster. Looking at the building inventory in the earthquake zone, it is seen that the lower floors of the houses are masonry and the upper floors are wooden. Fires reported immediately after earthquakes demonstrated the importance of secondary earthquake hazards. Red Crescent sent health committees to treat earthquake victims and meet their needs. The ferry where the Red Crescent delegation is located will also serve as an 80-bed hospital. In this direction, the cabins on the ferry were turned into rooms and wards for the wounded and sick. In fact, one of the two largest cabins will be used as an operating room and the other as a pharmacy. After arriving in Mürefte, the delegation was to set up a hospital tent on land. The earthquake also damaged infrastructure and water resources. Disaster victims suffering from water shortages have been in a very difficult situation, especially in terms of cleaning and hygiene. For this reason, the survivors started to catch epidemic diseases such as malaria and bronchitis. This is an example of how health problems such as epidemics may arise if the post-earthquake crisis cannot be managed in a proper way. In order to provide economic support to earthquake victims, aid commissions or social organizations for aid were organized. Perhaps the most interesting of these aid activities was the Women's Association distributing red flowers in Istanbul for the benefit of the disaster victims in exchange for 10 money. A musical performance was organized in Egypt to collect aid for those affected by the earthquake in Istanbul and its surroundings. Before the aid commissions were established, the citizens were helping the disaster victims, but with the establishment of the aid commissions, the aid began to be distributed more regularly based on the need. Considering the size of the disaster and the economic situation of the state, the establishment of Aid Commissions by Edirne Governor Halil Bey can be considered as a successful disaster aid activity. Since most of the citizens living in the earthquake area were Greek, the Greek Patriarchate showed close attention to the disaster area.However, the allegations of discrimination in the delivery and distribution of aids were constantly brought to the agenda by the Patriarchate and the Greek Government.In addition to the Patriarchate, other Greek organizations have also been involved in the works related to the earthquake and what needs to be done after the earthquake due to the ethnic structure of the region.The Patriarchate wanted to provide privileged aid to non-Muslims by establishing an aid commission within its own body. The Ottoman Government started to send supplies, medical teams and tents to the region as of the morning of the earthquake. Although some success has been achieved in terms of food supply and health teams, the problems in housing could not be fully resolved for a long time. Sea lines, land roads and railways were used in sending of aid to the earthquake struck area to ensure better disaster response. However, the sea transportation, mostly carried out by Ottoman Navy units, has been used more extensively in response to the disaster. Detailed examination of the relief and rehabilitation efforts following the earthquake has shown that usage of Ottoman Navy units, especially in transports and sea water distillation and various disaster aids by NonGovernmental Organisations, particularly Hilal-ı Ahmer (predecessor of present Kızılay) and volunteered peoples were found to be constructively supporting in management of the ensuing disaster. The Balkan Wars began on October 8, 1912, shortly after the earthquake on August 9, 1912. Especially with the arrival of the Bulgarians in front of Çatalca in a short time, the settlements of the earthquake victims, whose wounds could not be healed yet, came under Bulgarian occupation to a largeextent. While the wounds of the earthquake could not be healed yet, both the war started in Eastern Thrace, where the earthquake took place, and it was flooded by Muslims fleeing from the war. Suffering of the disaster victims, who already had a settlement problem, has increased with the arrival of the Muslim refugees. It has also been observed that the 1912 Balkan War and the manipulation of the existent minorities in the earthquake struck area by foreign countries negatively affected the disaster management. In addition, it was concluded that the collapsed Ottoman Empire was not ready for such a disaster but responded quite well compared its political and economic situation. The biggest problem today regarding the 1912 Mürefte Şarköy Earthquake is the lack of detailed information/data. This was mainly because of the Bulgarian occupation of the earthquake region in the Balkan War and other political conflicts. The scientists could not able go to the region and examine the earthquake properly by means of sociological, seismological and disaster management sciences.