Thousands of Turks gathered in silent homage across towns and villages of northern Turkey early Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the huge earthquake, which claimed an estimated 20,000 lives on August 17, 1999, the Anatolia news agency reported.
With prayers and expressions of mourning organized at the quake's epicenter at Golcuk in northwestern Turkey, as well as at other towns throughout the region, crowds waited for the exact hour of the quake, just after 3:00 am (local time), when the earth shook in this densely-populated area.
The earthquake, registered at 7.4 on the Richter Scale, flattened over 33,000 buildings, leaving about 600,000 people homeless, according to official estimates. Three years on, thousands still remain in the prefabricated dwellings hastily constructed in the earthquake's aftermath while towns in the area continue to bear the tragedy of the event, local officials said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
