Introduction

The death toll from the 7.4-magnitude quake on August 17, 1999 in Turkey now has reached 7,000, with some 30,000 people injured. Officials say the toll could reach as high as 10,000 dead. What can the world community do to assist Turkey in the wake of this disaster? What do you know about earthquakes and the aftermath of an earthquake that will ensure that your help is valuable and can assit the people in Turkey.

Objectives

• Objective 1: Find out what can be done to assist the victims and their families in the relief effort following the devasting earthquake in Turkey in August 1999.
• Objective 2: Discuss what we know and what questions we have about earthquakes.
• Objective 3: Investigate the Earthquake in Turkey from the standpoint to its destructive effects, and why the Earthqake occured there.
• Objective 4: Discuss and put into action a plan to assist the people in Turkey.

Materials

• Material you will need: Access to the Internet

What do you know or have heard about Earthquakes and what questions do you you have? You should think not only in terms of your prior experiences, but specifically think about the recent devastating earthquake that occured in Turkey on August 17, 1999.

There are a number of things you can do to learn about earthquakes. Here are a few. Choose at least one explorations.

1. Explore the "virtual earthquake" site by clicking on the "execute virtual earthquake" box below.

2. Visit one or more of the following sites to find out about the earthquake in Turkey from a scientific point of view.

Examine some maps and graphs of the August 17 quake in Turkey.

Near-Real Time Earthquake Bulletin

Current World Seismicity

3. Visit CNN and look for stories about the earthquake in Turkey.

www.cnn.com

4. Sounds and Reports

Audio files and reports on the Turkey earthquake.

Turkey Earthquake fact sheet.

5. Message Board

Visit the message board on the Turkey earthquake; read comments; contribute if you wish.

What did you find out about earthquakes in general, and the earthquake that occured in Turkey on the 17th of August?

Task:Summarize your findings using the chart below: You can do this on chart paper and be ready to share with others.

Key Questions	Findings

At this stage, we should be involved in an activity that will assist us in taking personal and/or social responsibility for what we learned about earthquakes in general, and the earthquake in Turkey in particular.. This stage provokes the questions, "what did I learn, and how can I use this knowledge to assist others."

You might visit any of the following sites to develop at least one significant idea that you can take action on.

Global Earthquake Response Center

The Red Cross

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

US Agency for International Development (USAID)

Hopefully you have learned not only about earthquakes, but how you can take action on catastrophic events such as these. Even though the quake occurred thousands of miles from Atlanta, its effects are felt by all.