Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences

Vol. 44(5), May 2015, pp. 519-530

Effect of Soil Formations to Ground Failure During Earthquake in Adapazar City,

Northern Turkey
Nazile Ural
Department of Civil Engineering, Bilecik eyh Edebali University, Bilecik, 11210 Turkey.
[E-mail: nazile.ural@bilecik.edu.tr]

Received 31 July 2013; revised 18 November 2013

In terms of the formation of the ground in each country, especially in earthquakes, structure damages are much observed
in cities due to soil problems. In Turkey, Adapazari soils show the rare feature in terms of formation in the word. 17 August
1999 Kocaeli earthquake is remembered significant number of casualties, damage and the soil problems. Adapazari Plain is
the largest alluvial plain of the Marmara region. Adapazari was shaped by both the tectonic events and contribution of
sediments carried by the rivers. The largest share belongs to the Sakarya River in the filling of the plain, Mudurnu water
takes the second place. The geotechnical properties of this alluvial area are highly variable. Because of geology and local
soil conditions soils of Adapazari has shown potential in terms of soil problems during earthquake. In this study a
description of the damage suffered throughout history in Adapazari will be given.

[Keywords: Earthquake, History, Flood, Alluvial Soil, Soil Problems]

Introduction land. Soil properties and soil conditions are used to

Earthquake ground motion is affected by the
local soil conditions and geological structure. The
variations in the strong ground motion caused by
local soil conditions are reflected in the dynamic
behavior of soils. During earthquakes, the soil has
played important role as a contributing factor in the
failure of built in cities. For this reason, many
researchers have studied about effect of local soil
conditions on structure damages. Zamarbide1
examined to assess the potential damageability due
earthquake in San Juan (Argentina). San Juan city is
located in the Tulum Valley, west of the San Juan
River. The valley is consist of rock, alluvial fan
deposits of the San Juan river, flood plain deposits
of the present course of the San Juan river,
transition zone of old fan deposits and flood plain
deposits. In the 1977 earthquake most of ground
failure was related to liquefaction in the valley.
DeLisle2 presented maps potentially liquefiable
sediment area. He collected geotechnical data from
more than 600 sites where one or more boreholes
were drilled. The study area is a peninsula bound by
the Pacific Ocean on the west and San Francisco
Bay on the north and east. Current topography of
study area was shaped by Quaternary tectonism,
marine and estuarine deposition, and man-made
identify and correlate liquefaction susceptible soils.
It is indicated that liquefaction susceptibility maps
showed similar to Quaternary geologic maps. As a
result of investigation was characterized by
grouping deposits into high, moderate, low, and
very low categories. Kayen and Barnhardt3
examined the geomorphology and seismic stability
of the Duwamish River delta at the Port of Seattle in
western Washington State. Geotechnical
investigation indicated that these river deposits
show high initial liquefaction susceptibility during
earthquakes.
Niigata city is located on the west coast of Japan
where the Shinano River enters the sea. The river
built up sand deposits nearly 100 meters thick on
which the city was built. The soils of Niigata City
consist of young sedimentary deposits having low
density soils and shallow ground water table. At the
time of 1964 Niiagata earthquake, there were many
reinforced concrete buildings in Niigata City. The
National Information Service for Earthquake
Engineering 2000 states: The Niigata Earthquake
resulted in dramatic damage due to liquefaction of
the sand deposits in the low-lying areas of4.
Especially in the 17 August 1999 Kocaeli
earthquake, Adapazari faced extreme destruction,
520 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 44, NO. 5 MAY 2015
thousands of lives were lost and serious material
losses occurred. The soil problems observed after
the earthquake are toppling, strength decay, bottom
heave, exceeded bearing capacity and liquefaction5.
Bol and Onalp6 stated that liquefaction especially
occurred in regions where crevasse splays deposits
develop on lower facies and where silt and fine
sands are dominant. They also stated that crevasse
splays deposits form by the destruction of the river
barriers along the river bed due to high flow rate
and the accumulation of the material composed of
silt and fine sand in the flood plain through the
crevasse, and that cavities form between the barrier
of the deserted bed and the current bed causing
swamp deposits to accumulate in those cavities.
These lower facies showing different deposit
properties form different basic soils for engineering
structures. Meanwhile, Bol7 prepared the thematic
maps reflecting the various characteristics of soils
with Geology Information Systems (GIS) using
wide a database for Adapazar city center.
Researcher compared soil classification,
liquefaction potential, liquit limit, average grain size
and liquidity index maps and 1999 earthquake
damage map. Consequently, he stated that it may
understand approximate expected damage to the
regions with soil properties. The research studies
support that different soil problems depend on
different layer properties in different lower facies of
the region established in a river facies stage. For this
purpose the studies related to the formation of
Adapazari soils are generally compiled.
Even though we know that the Britons and
Byzantines lived in this region, no accommodation
area belonging to the Britons, Romans or
Byzantines could be detected in the Adapazari area.
However, it can be understood that there are bridges
such as the Justinyen Bridge, haunts, castle relics
and temples in the region. Erz and Alpan8 stated
that Adapazari is a recently established city.
Towards the end of the XIII. century, the Ottomans
conquered the Adapazari basin. As it is in an island
shape stuck between 2 bayous of the Sakarya River,
these places were called island in the following
years. Researchers state that the Sakarya river is
divided into 2 bayous at the place which was called
Uzunkpr before and that one of the bayous flows
below the Bekpr today and the other bayou
flows almost through the current bed of the river
today and that these two bayous combine around
St and direct towards north until disemboguing
into the Black Sea.
In this study, important collimating information
will be given to researchers performing studies on
Adapazari soils. The information about the
formation mechanism of the Adapazari soils will
provide an important contribution in order to
understand the geotechnical properties of the soils.
For this purpose, the notes of foreign travelers who
have visited Adapazari and soil formations
originated from Sakarya River will be briefly given.
After that, the summary of earthquakes and floods
that have affected Adapazari city will be given. In
addition, it will be referred to the soil problems
observed in the 17 August 1999 Kocaeli earthquake.
Informations about soil formation, earthquakes
and the notes of travelers of Adapazar city
Adapazar location and features
Adapazar is a busy agricultural, business and
industrial city in the Northen Turkey. The city was
ruined with unexpected death toll and building
damage in the past earthquakes. Especially it was
observed to many building damage during 17
August 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. The location of
Adapazar is given in Fig. 1 on turkey earthquake
map. Adapazar is located in the immediate vicinity
of the North Anatolian Fault. This transform fault
has been known to be active approximately every
decade.
Fig. 1 Location of Adapazari (Earthquake Research
Department, Turkey)
 URAL: EFFECT OF SOIL FORMATIONS TO GROUND FAILURE DURING EARTHQUAKE IN ADAPAZARI
Adapazar geography and geology
Sakarya which is located in the north east of the
Marmara region is surrounded by Dzce city, Bolu
Mountain to the east, by the Glpazar and
Osmaneli districts of Bilecik city to the south, by
the Kandra, Merkez and Glck districts of Kocaeli
to the west and by the Black Sea to the north.
Adapazar which is the center of Sakarya city is at
the lower part of the Sakarya basin, on the Akova
plains. The plains cover 22.1% of the city area. The
biggest plain of the city is Akova (Adapazar plain).
The plain, which is located to the east of Sapanca
Lake and Adapazar, is one of the biggest plains in
the Marmara region (Fig. 29). The plain is irrigated
by the Sakarya River flowing from south to north
and by the Mudurnu River flowing from east to
west. The cross sectional area of Akoa is 620km
with a width of 23 km and with a length of 27 km in
the east west direction.
Fig. 2 Adapazari plain (ISFZ= Izmit-Sapanca fault zone, IMF=
Iznik-Mekece fault, MF= Mudurnu fault, The Izmit-Sapanca fault
zone9
The Sakarya River, which originates in the
ifteler district of Eskiehir, has a length of 824 km
together with its bayous. However, considering that
some of the sources have dried up, the length can be
assumed to be 720 km. The length within Sakarya
city borders is 159,5 km. The river is combined with
the Gksu bayou which irrigates the negl and
Yeniehir plains after passing Osmaneli and reaches
Pamukova after combining with the Gynk River.
It flows through the narrow Gevye straight between
Gevye and Doanay and reaches the Adapazari
plain. Here the valley bottom is below 35m and the
river becomes a characteristic plain river. The
521
Sakarya River which passes from 4km east of
Adapazari city center (Fig. 310), is combined with
the Mudurnu River at the northern part of the plain
and after that it is combined with the ark River
which empties the excess water of Sapanca Lake
and disembogues to the Black Sea from the
Yenimahalle neighborhood of the Karasu district
center11.
Fig. 3 Drainage area of the Sakarya River10
Bol12 gave the geological map of Adapazar
region. Characteristics of the study area are the
outcropping of Permian-Triassic red sandstones and
grey dolomites, sandstones and quartzites outcrop
on hills to the North. Upper Cretaceous formations
intrude from the southwest containing marl,
sandstone and their mixtures with limestones. The
Lower-Mid Eocene Upper Cretaceous is overlain by
basalt, agglomerate and tuffs in Serdivan a suburb
of Adapazar to the West.
The studies related to the formation of the
Adapazar plain started in the beginning of the
1900s. Rish13 stated S apanca lake was a graben
which was a part of Izmit bay and the Sakarya River
used to disembogue to Marmara from there at that
time. It later was separated from the bay and
became sweet. Moreover, Sakarya was connected to
the Black Sea by an old valley. Baykal14 determined
the fault line areas in north of Sapanca lake and
Adapazari and did studies about the geological
522 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 44, NO. 5 MAY 2015

developments of the Gevye strait and the mountains in the upper levels of the drilling as the deposits of
in the east. Lahn15 described Sapanca Lake as a dam the final filling stage of the plain and explained the
lake formed by the separation of the rivers coming different characteristics of sediments in different
from the high areas in the north and south by the places as the frequent bed changes of Sakarya
alluvions. He says that the sea bayou entering here River. The researcher determined the reality that the
most probably covered the Adapazari plain and so river might have flown from the path where the city
the Sakarya River disembogued to Izmit Bay and lies today. The carbon age determination made with
after that it disembogued to the Black Sea due to the the samples taken from 4mt depth resulted as
blockage of the river by the alluvions of the
Adapazari plain. According to Inandk16 the bed of
the Sakarya River flowing towards the west was
blocked by alluvions and therefore the river
changed its direction to the Black Sea.
Bilgin17 stated that the Adapazar plain was
becoming thicker day by day due to the
accumulated materials and would collapse slowly
under the weight of these materials. The river loses
its speed after the Gevye strait in the Adapazari
plain and leaves pebbles, sand, silt and sand to the
plain and as the flow rate of the river decreases,
these results in clay and silt deposits to be
accumulated in the river bed. Uluda18 stated that
the precipitation environments in the Adapazar
plain and Sogutlu plain in the north have different
characteristics and that the Adapazari plain was
covered by sea or lake from time to time.
Kerey19 showed the development of the flora
with the samples taken from the Sakarya River old
bed and the Sakarya delta and showed that it
changed from open continental area to mixed forest
consisting of pine, oak, fir, hornbeam, hazelnut and
elm. They stated at the end of drilling studies that Fig. 4 Facies Map of Adapazar City (modified from Bol et
al.23)
different numeric ages were obtained from different
depths which show the tectonic activity of the
region during the Holocene. Komazawa20 explained 96040 years. This shows that the precipitation time
the alluvion depth as 1000-1500mt at the end of necessary for a 1m thick alluvion layer in geological
geophysical studies and that the depth of the rigid periods when no precautions were taken against
soil at the end of the city center is 1000mt. flooding is approximately 250 years.
Uluda21 stated in his study that the Sakarya river Bol22 and Bol et al.23 used geographic
disembogues to the Adapazari basin before reaching information systems to find the distribution of lower
the Black Sea and it flows for enough time to form a facies of the Adapazari soils. The work results of
coast delta in the opening of the Gevye strait and Bol et al.23 are summarized in Fig.4. They showed
depending on the precipitations occurring in the that 2 river bayous used to flow in the place where
Adapazari plain, it made the bed deeper by splitting Adapazari city lies today and that other lower facies
the delta formed by the Sakarya River. Bol12 developed around the channel facies sediments left
examined the soil in Adapazari and determined the by these rivers and that all lower facies present
distribution and depths of flood plain sediments in different geotechnical properties. They presented
the past and gave the distribution of alluvions in the the change of river originated alluvion profiles that
city center. He explained the clay, sand and pebbles are dominant in Adapazar city. As the
 URAL: EFFECT OF SOIL FORMATIONS TO GROUND FAILURE DURING EARTHQUAKE IN ADAPAZARI 523

geomorphologic formation stages in a river

originated area such as Adapazari cannot be
monotone, they stated that Adapazari city soils
which are very active in terms of earthquakes are
geotechnically very important. Based on all of
these, it is understood that a river flowing 1500
years ago from south to north through the Gevye
strait split into two bayous to the south of Erenler
hills. One bayou used the Bekpr valley in the
west and the other bayou advanced from the east
foothills of the Erenler hill and the two bayous
combined again around the city center of Adapazari
and proceeded towards the north. As the basin of the
river bayou in the west descended continuously due
to tectonic events and the collapses, the bayou left
its valley and used only the channel in the east and Fig. 6 Two typical soil profile of the studied area with CPT
in modern times it probably immigrated to further data (Bol et al.23)
east to its current position.
They stated that in drilling operations made in
Adapazar city center, materials with sometimes
heavy odor consisting of plant remains with fiber
and wood pieces came out. The Sakarya River
through the paths it followed in the past resulted in
the formation of a more rigid subsoil compared with
other regions and the precipitated thin materials in
floods and swamp environments formed
problematical areas for engineering structures.

Fig. 7 Major tectonic elements in the eastern Mediterannean

Region26
Fig. 5 Flood in the River Sakarya-194025
524 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 44, NO. 5 MAY 2015

In the past, Sakarya River plays a primary role in

the formation of Adapazari soils due flowed from
different parts of the city and it was caused by
different soil stack in plain. Two typical soil profile
of the studied area with CPT data is given in Fig. 6.
In Fig. 6a is seen soil profil about the old river
channel (channel facies). In this soil profile, a thick
layer of coarse sand is outstanding. In Fig. 6b is
seen soil profil about the backswamp region. This
soil profile is observed in thin layers of silt and sand
in places where fine clays with. This thin layer of
sand and silt is indicated crevasse splays caused by
time to time the Sakarya River floods.
Fig. 8 North Anatolian Fault27

Fig. 10 Long Bazaar after the earthquake in 194325

Fig. 9 Earthquake map of Adapazari (Earthquake research

institution)

Moreover, the floods affected Adapazari very

much until the 1960s. In Table 1 part of the
information of floods in Adapazari and its
surroundings is given24. In Fig. 525 photos taken
after the flood can seen. However, the dams built in Fig. 11 Adapazari after the earthquake of Mudurnu 22July
the upper parts of the river and the barriers built on 196725
both coasts of the Sakarya River have taken the
floods under control. There are still floods in the
Mudurnu River which is another river irrigating the
Adapazari plain but it has little effect as it is away
from the city centers.
 URAL: EFFECT OF SOIL FORMATIONS TO GROUND FAILURE DURING EARTHQUAKE IN ADAPAZARI
Fig. 12 Tozlu Mosque and Adnan Menderes Street 17August
199925
The seismicity of Adapazar and History of
Earthquakes
Turkey is in an active location in terms of
earthquakes because of the North Anatolian fault
line with a length of 1500 km lying in east-west
direction. Fig. 726 shows the Anatolian one is under
pressure by the northward movements of both
African and Arabian plates. The Anatolian plate,
bounded by the North Anatolian Fault Zone
(NAFZ) and the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ),
is pushed westward against the Agean plate as a
result of the relative movement of the Arabian plate
with respect to African plate.
The North Anatolian Fault line starts from Saroz
Bay and lies along the Marmara Sea, Sapanca Lake,
Adapazari, Tosya and Erzincan until the north of
Van Lake. In the tectonic collapse of the basin
formed by this fault line which crosses the Marmara
sea as far as Izmit bay, Sapanca and Adapazari,
525
many earthquakes have occurred in history (Fig.
827). Adapazar is located in a first degree
earthquake zone and the Adapazari earthquake map
is given in Fig. 9. As Adapazari lies on a deep
alluvial soil, it was affected seriously by the
earthquakes in the past. Caution is always necessary
in Adapazari city where various soil problems may
occur during earthquakes. In Table 2 part of the
earthquakes which have affected Adapazari starting
from the Byzantium and Ottoman eras until today
are given21. When the table is examined it can be
seen that Adapazari has always been affected by the
earthquakes in the region due to the tectonic and
soil properties of the region. The photos taken after
earthquakes are shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 1225.
The notes of travelers about Adapazar
Knowing the notes written by travelers visiting
Adapazari and its surroundings will ease the
interpretation of soil behaviors.
In 1548, Gabriel dAramon stated that the
Adapazar region is a sea of trees, which means it
was covered with dense forests.
In 1640 Evliya elebi described the east of Izmit
by saying Aperson can get lost in the sea of trees
in the mountains in the east, there are such trees
reaching high to the sky that ten thousand sheep can
rest in their shade.
In 1648 after Evliya elebi got in contact with
the endless sea of trees next to Sapanca Lake to the
east, he wrote t here is such a muddy swamp in this
area.
In 1740, Richard Pococke stated that the water
amount from the Sagaris/Sakarya is plentiful. He
also noted that the Sagaris used to flow through
another bed but now the same river cannot be seen
under the bridge where the convoy passes.
In 1817 a traveler named William Heute who
visited the region stated that he reached Sapanca
after passing through Bekpr, he did not mention
about Adapazari accommodation. However, he
noted that he had reached Izmit from Sapanca
through a muddy road which is difficult to pass
through.
In 1817-1819 a traveler named Minas Bjkyan
who passed through Sakarya during his visit to the
Black Sea coast mentioned the Sakarya River and
526 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 44, NO. 5 MAY 2015
Bekpr but he did not mention accommodation in
Adapazari.
In 1862 Kont A. De Moustier who made a visit to
the region stated that Adapazari was an
accommodation area with a population of 10.000 on
the left side of the Sakarya River beyond a small
valley named Adaky (Ada is island and ky is
village) which contained minerals.
In 1832 Charles Texier stated about Ada: Af ter
passing the bridge a small village named Adapazari
is reached through a road to the northeast. The
reason for the name is that the shape is like an
island between the 2 bayous of the Sakarya River.
The width of the river is 100m here. It is separated
by two bayous and forms this small island.
In 1838 Williame Ainsworth stated that he
reached to Sapanca from Izmit by passing through a
sea of trees.
In 1840 J.Ballie Fraser stated that his only
complaint in the Sakarya region was the rain and
muddy land.
In 1862 A.D. Moustier visited Sakarya and took
some notes: The terrain is low, road is almost
under water. Sometimes we move in the water. We
passed the bridge built by Justinianus in 6th century.
Sagarius is not passing under this bridge anymore.
There is weak water current under the bridge. It is
most likely a swamp. The French traveler who
visited here 25 years ago states that there is an arch
of triumph relic in Sapanca River. I could not see it
now. Adapazari is a small town with a population of
10.000 lying next to the river. It is also called
Adaky.
In 1888 German traveler Bernard Schwarz noted
the famous swamp of Adapazari.
In 1890 Edmund Naumann took these notes
about Adapazar: Sak arya is not flowing below the
bridge but from its surrounding. The flow of the
river was changed in the 1300s. He also noted: I
jumped over many puddles on the way to Adapazari
after passing Justinianus bridge and the cows lie in
some of these puddles which are almost completely
submerged in the water. Mud baths can be seen
everywhere. The Adapazari name is formed by ada
(island) and pazar (market) words and is located in a
muddy area. 11, 24.
It can summarized from the notes of travelers that
Adapazari was wet, muddy and covered with forests
in the past years and was not suitable for city
accommodation. The tree roots found at 4-5 mt
depths in drilling operations today are not surprising
according to this information.
Major earthquakes and 17 August 1999 Kocaeli
earthquake
The city of Adapazar is extraordinarily high
seismic risk. Adapazar is located in the immediate
vicinity of the North Anatolian Fault and therefore it
was recorded important earthquakes in 1943, 1957,
1967 and 1999. The 1943 Adapazar-Hendek
earthquake occurred in Sakarya Province, Turkey. It
registered an estimated magnitude of Ms=6.5,
earthquake have aftershocks and quakes at regular
intervals. It was recorded 346 people lost their lives.
In Adapazari and Hendek has been heavy damage.
In this earthquake, a few thousand houses was
destroyed. 1957 Abant earthquake had a magnitude
of Ms=7.0, the earthqauke caused total almost
destruction within the 40km long narrow valley
between Abant Lake (east) and Dokurcun (west)28.
1967 Akyaz earthquake was been 7.2 magnitude
and it was claimed one hundred lives and destroying
numerous houses and buildings. This earthquake
was felt around of Adapazari, Istanbul, Bolu,
Eskisehir and Ankara but major structural damage
occurred mainly in the capital city of Adapazar29.
The 17 August 1999 Kocaeli earthquake occurred
at 03:02a.m.This earthquake had a magnitude of
Ms= 7.8, the depth was about 10 km and the
epicenter was Golcuk at the eastern end of Marmara
Sea. The earthquake affected city centers of Golcuk,
Yalova, Adapazari, Izmit, Istanbul (Avclar area),
Duzce, Akyazi, Golyaka, Sapanca and Izmit. Sahin
and Tari30 gave the total number of house unit
collapsed and heavily damaged is 19.043, and the
owner or occupant families of these houses are
nowhomeless. After the damage evaluation, 12.200
house units are classified as moderately damaged
and total number of slightly damaged housing units
are 18.720, in Adapazar, Sakarya. Especially, after
17 August 1999 Kocaeli earthquake, many
researchers studied about the problems of Adapazari
soil. Onalp31, Erken32, Bray33, Bray34, Bol7, Bol et
al23, Bol12, Sert35, and also.
Onalp31 summarised the damage to the buildings
in 1999 Kocaeli earthquake in six main groups.
They gave were the sheer magnitude of the
 URAL: EFFECT OF SOIL FORMATIONS TO GROUND FAILURE DURING EARTHQUAKE IN ADAPAZARI 527

earthquake experienced by the structures caused
immediate collapse of many, consist of buildings
which had a height/breadth ratio of larger than 2.5,
those buildings simply toppled over and broke.
They gave the buildings settled up to 1 m equally or
tilted, with no evidence of ground failure on the
surface, the bursting of the soft subsoil into the
basement if the foundation was not a raft, buildings
have simply undergone bearing capacity failure and
they said the last damage is liquefaction.
Bray34 presented a comprehensive study of the
soils Adapazari. There are CPT profiles, borings
with SPTs and soil index tests in this study. They
said that many of the affected buildings had sand
boils in their vicinity, although often ejecta were not
present. To the effects of ground on building
performance, they investigated areas of extensive
ground failure occurred as evidenced by building
settlement, sliding, and tilting. They claimed that
the fluvial nature of the deposition of soils in
Adapazari are vitally important in understanding the
occurence and nonoccurence of ground failure and
building damage in Adapazari. They said that the
liquefaction triggering analyses were performed for
free-field, level ground conditions and they do not
take into consideration the effect of the structure,
and in Adapazar it appears that the inertial loading
of the reinforced concrete structures was largely
detrimental, because ground failure was
systematically found adjacent to structuresand
found to be less prevalent away from structures.

Table1 The flood information of Adapazari and around24

Date Damge case
28 December 1924 Due to overflow in Mudurnu water, Adapazari-Hendek way was damaged.
09 July 1938 Due to intensive and heavy rains, Adapazari's Karaprek township was flooded.
30 December 1939 Water level of Sakarya River was extremely increased and was severe damaged around.
27 February 1941 Due to overflow in Sakarya River, settlements near the river remained under water.
04 July 1941 Due to heavy rains, Sakarya river was increased.
05 April 1948 Sakarya River overflowed and the surrounding residential areas remained under water, approximately 1m.
28 October 1950 In Sapanca and villages, as a result of intense rains occurred big floods
12 February 1951 In Sapanca and Derbent occurred large floods.
18 February 1953 Sakarya River overflowed and around Adapazari and 10 thousand acres of land remained under water.
04 March 1953 Due to the increased water of Sakarya river, flood waters were came up to the edge of downtown.
24 February 1956 Sakarya River was increased sets of Gneler village was destroyed.
11 March 1956 The waters of Sakarya River were increased again in spring and contact with some of the villages with city
were cut to the maximum extent.
23 January 1963 As a result of melting of the snow falling heavily, ark River was flooded and thousands of homes remained
under water in Adapazari.
16 April 1965 Due to rainfall Sakarya river water level was increased.
14 March 1968 As a result of the falling rain and melting snow overflowed the Sakarya River, settlements and roads was
damaged.
29 October 1968 Between Adapazari and Izmit remained flooded lowland sites.
24 November 1968 Sakarya River was increased.
02 July 1969 Pouring rain and strong wind, some neighborhoods in Adapazari was led electricity poles break and
electricity discontinuation.
13 February 1970 Sakarya River was increased as a result of rain and snow melt.
18 April 1970 Sakarya River was increased, as a result of rain.
04 July 1972 Due to rain, the province of Sakarya was flooded.
07 September 1979 Due to rain, in Sakarya and around was flooded and in the Safi village of Geyve's was existed loss of lives.
02 March 1981 Due to intense rains, in Arifiye-Sapanca was landslide.
30 July 1984 Due to heavy rain, especially Yenidoan, eker, Semerciler, Yenigun and Yacilar neighborhoods of
Adapazari covered with rainwater.
02 April 1999 Due to rainfall and snowmelt, Sakarya River was increased.
26 June 1999 Due to heavy rain, Adapazari city center was occured lake.
528 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 44, NO. 5 MAY 2015

Table 2 The earthquake information of Adapazari and around24

Date Important note about earthquake
26 October 740 Earthquakes was caused great devastation in Istanbul, city and castles was collapsed, in Trakya, Izmit and
Karamrsel almost completely destroyed, except a single church was destroyed in Iznik.
1 June-17 July 1296 64 castle and many cities was destroyed in Anatolia. Regions in the west of the Sakarya River, settlements
was destroyed.
10 September 1509 This earthquake was the largest earthquake that occurred in the eastern Mediterranean. 4-5 thousand people
died (Istanbul population at 160,000), many monumental buildings were destroyed or suffered damage. The
5 mosques and 300 houses was destroyed in Izmit city. During the earthquake continued throughout the 45
days, sections of the sea-shore of the city walls was collapsed. Ottoman historians of this earthquake, "little
apocalypse" they said.
24 May 1719 Istanbul, Izmit and surroundings was been affected this earthquake. Izmit 4/5's destroyed, more than 4,000
people died.
22 May 1766 Tsunami was occurred during the earthquake, many mosques and the capital building was destroyed in
Istanbul. Approximately 2.5 months after the 5 August 1766, has been again an earthquake. Both
earthquakes affected eastern of Marmara Sea.
1 November 1893 Earthquake was increasing in intensity and lasted 80sec. Then stopped suddenly this earthquake. People
living in the earthquake said "passing through the courtyard and the garden to go to the shelter they had
difficulty standing" and "we are just like the passengers on board a ship caught in a storm". Trees suspended
from right to left more than half a meter. Sakarya river was increased and fields flooded water.
20 June 1943 6.9 magnitude, earthquakes have aftershocks and quakes at regular intervals. 346 people lost their lives. In
Adapazari and Hendek has been heavy damage. A few thousand houses was destroyed.
22 July 1967 This earthquake was been 7.2 magnitude. Earthquake was felt around the of Adapazari, Istanbul, Bolu,
Eskisehir and Ankara. The earthquake was collapsed concrete buildings, wooden houses, was caused the
opening of large fissures on roads, large landslides, was overthrown stone and trees. 89 people died in the
earthquake and this earthquake is one of the most important disasters occurring in the Republican history.
17 August 1999 Golcuk-Arifiye focused on this earthquake was 7.4 magnitude, 45-50sn long. The earthquake affected
completely Marmara region. The earthquake occurred in the Marmara Region has the highest concentration
of industry and urbanization, so was resulted in loss of life and the damage is too great. Loss of life has led
to around 20 000. Between Highway Sapanca-Adapazari, in Anatolia was occured part of the settlements,
tensile cracks and failure, so it did not reach the earthquake area.

Sert35 had prepared the maps of soil origins, Conclusion

bearing capacity, and the distribution of damage in the
city. They prepared map of bearing capasity, map of
liquefaction, and damage map of Adapazari with
prepared geology information system. These maps
were seen that areas where liquefaction of the city of
Adapazari covers only 36.3% and the main rock
outcrop where the damage does not appear. Generally,
researchers said that damage is located on the
alluvium in the region is seen on the more. During the
1999 Kocaeli earthquake, it was seen many structures
settled, tilted and slid as a result of liquefaction and
bearing capasity failures due main part of the city is
located on a thick alluvium. Shortly, the damages in
the Adapazari City during earthquakes is showed to
be strongly affected by the soil conditions. After
earthquakes, especially 17 August 1999 Kocaeli
earthquake was observed toppling, strength decay,
bottom heave, exceeded bearing capacity and
liquefaction. So much of lives were lost and serious
material losses occurred due these soil problems.
In this paper was described the creation of the
Adapazar soils with the historical perspective. Soils
of Adapazari city is on a very deep alluvial deposit. In
history Adapazari city has always been affected by
the earthquakes in the region due to the tectonic and
soil properties of the region. Especially after 17
August 1999 Kocaeli earthquake, soil problems
related to different soil types and foundation types
have been observed. It is very important to learn the
formation mechanism of the Adapazar soils in terms
of understanding the geotechnical properties of the
soils. It is thought the fact that Adapazari used to be
wet, muddy, covered with forests and therefore not
suitable for city accommodation should not be
forgotten. Consequently, it is showed that Adapazar
plain have different soil types, and it is understood
that this like soils can show bad soil conditions in
terms of building performence, especially during
earthquake shaking. It is thought that this like
research paper will be an important resource for
alluvial sites which are on risk of the earthquake.
 URAL: EFFECT OF SOIL FORMATIONS TO GROUND FAILURE DURING EARTHQUAKE IN ADAPAZARI
References
1 Zamarbide J L, Castano J & Giuliano A, Potential
damageability due to earthquakes in the Tulum Valley, San
Juan, Argentina, Eight World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering, San Francisco, California, 1984.
2 DeLisle M J, Liquefaction Zones in the City and County of San
Francisco, California, Sesimic Hazard Evaluation of the City
and County of San Francisco California, California Division
of Mines and Geology Open File Report, 2000, 2-15.
3 Kayen R E & Barnhardt W A, Seismic Stability of the
Duwamish River Delta, Seattle, Washington, Earthquake
Hazards of the Pacific Northwest Coastal and Marine
Regions, Editor Robert Kayen, 2007.
4 Day R W, Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Handbook,
McGraw-Hill, 2002, pp. 700.
5 nalp A, Arel E & Bol E, A General Assesment of the Effects
of 1999 Earthquake on the Soil-Structure Interaction in
Adapazar, Jubilee Papers in Honour of Prof. Dr. Ergn
Torol (Editors: A. Salamer, K. zdoru, S. Gk, A.
Kurtulu), Istanbul, Turkey, 2001.
6 Bol E & nalp A, Liquefaction of silts and Liquefaction Map
of Adapazari, Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
10 National Congress, Istanbul, 2004 (in Turkish).
7 Bol E, Determination of the relationship between soil
properties and earthquake damage with the aid of neural
networks: a case study in Adapazar, Turkey, Natural
Hazards and Earth System Sciences (2012) 29652975.
8 Erz M & Alpan S, History of Adapazari and Geography of
the Sakarya, Sakarya Social Research Centre Faculties
Printing, Istanbul, 1968, pp.56 (in Turkish).
9 Ikeda Y, Herece E, Svgai T, and lkara A M, Post glacial
crustal deformation associated with slip on the western part
of the North Anatolian fault zone in the znik Lake basin,
Turkey, Bull. Dept. Geog. Univ. Tokyo (1991) 13-23.
10 Algan O, Gkaan E, Gaziolu C, Ycel Z Y, Alpar B, 27 Bayrak Y, Ozturk S, Koravos G Ch, Leventakis G A and
Gneysu C, Krc E, Demirel S, Sar E & Ongan D, A
highresolution seismic study in Sakarya Delta and submarine
canyon, southern Black Sea shelf, Continental Shelf
Research 22, 10(2002) 1511-1527.
11 Demir M, Sakarya Province historical I. T.C Sakarya
University Rectoship Publications, Sakarya Turkey, 2005 (in
Turkish).
12 Bol E, Geotechnical Properties of Adapazari soil, Ph.D thesis,
Sakarya University, Turkey, 2003 (in Turkish).
13 Risch C, Der Sabandjasse und seine Umgebung, Petermanss
Mitteilungen 55(1909) 10182.
14 Baykal A F, Adapazar - Kandra area geological survey,
Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, VIII, 4, 1943.
15 Lahn E, Geology and Geomorphology of the study lakes of
Turkey, General Directorate of Mineral research and
Exploration publications, B-12, Ankara, 1948 (in Turkish).
16 Inandk H, Adapazar Plain and Ovas and Environment of
Geomorphological Study, Istanbul University, Institute of
Geography journal, 34(1953) 107138 (in Turkish).
17 Bilgin T, Adapazari Plain and the groove of Sapanca
morphology of the alluvial and geomorphological evolution
in quaternary, Scientific and Technological Research Council
of Turkey, TBAG Project No 128, Vol 2, 1975 (in Turkish).
18 Uluda M, Adapazari Plain and its Surroundings
geomorphological Development in Late Quaternary, Ph.D
thesis, Istanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences,
529
Istanbul, 1998 (in Turkish).
19 Kerey I E, Meri E, Nazik A, Tunolu C, Avar N, Kapan-
yeil S, Akgn F, Uluda M, Agasi N, Tra M, il E &
Akkiraz S, The aspects of the Late Quaternary (Holocene)
setting belong to the eastern Gulf of Izmit, Adapazar, the
delta of Sakarya and their environments, 55. Geological
Congress, Ankara, Turkey, 2002 (in Turkish).
20 Komazawa M, Morikawa H, Nakamura K, Akamatsu J,
Nishimura K, Sawada S, Erken A & Onalp A, Bedrock
Structure in Adapazar, Turkey - A Possible Cause of Severe
Damage by the 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake, Soil Dynamics and
Earthquake Engineering, 22, 9(2002) 829-836.
21 Uluda M, Adapazari Plain Fan Delta, Eurasian Institute of
Earth Sciences Quaternary, Workshop IV ITU 2003 (in
Turkish).
22 Bol E, Arel E & nalp A, Recognition of Fluvial Deposits by
the Use of Geographical Information Systems, 4.
Geographical Information System Days, Fatih University,
Istanbul, Trkiye, 2006 (in Turkish).
23 Bol E, nalp A, Arel E, Sert S & zocak A, Liquefaction of
silts: the Adapazari criteria, Bulletin of Earthquake
Engineering (2010) 859-873.
24 Demir M, Sakarya Province historical II., T.C Sakarya
University Rectoship Publications, Sakarya Turkey, 2005. (in
Turkish)
25 Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Publications, Adapazar
from Yesterday to today, 2008
http://issuu.com/sakarya/docs/dundenbuguneadapazari.
Accessed 05 February 2012 (in Turkish).
26 aatay M N, Grr N, Flecker R, Sakn M, Tnolu C,
Ellam R, Krijgsman W, Vincent S & Dikba A, Paratethyan
Mediterranean connectivity in the Sea of Marmara region
(NW Turkey) during the Messinian, Sedimentary Geology,
V188-189(2006) 171-187.
Tsapanos T M, Seismicity assessment for the different
regions in and around Turkey based on instrumental data:
Gumbel first asymptotic distribution and Gutenberg-Richter
cumulative frequency law, Natural Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.
8(2008) 109122.
28 Ambraseys N N, Engineering seismology, Earthquake
Engineering and Structural Dynamics 17(1988) 1-105.
29 Yarar R & Tezcan S S, Structural Engineering Aspects of the
1967 Adapazar, Turkey, Proceedings of the Fourth World
Conference on Earthquake Engineering, January 13-18,
Editorial Universitaria, Santiago, Chile, J2.36-J2.43, 1969.
30 Sahin M & Tari E, The August 17 Kocaeli and the November
12 Duzce earthquakes in Turkey, Earth Planets Space
52(2000) 753757.
31 nalp A, Arel E & Bol E, A general assesment of the Effects
of 1999 Earthquake on the Soil-Structure Interaction in
Adapazar, Jubilee Papers in Honour of Prof. Dr. Ergn
Torol stanbul, Trkiye, 2001 (in Turkish).
32 Erken A, The role of geotechnical factors on observed damage
in Adapazari during 1999 earthquake, 15th ICSMGE, TC4
Satellite Conference on Lessons learned from Recent Strong
Earthquakes, Istanbul, Turkey, 2001, 2932.
33 Bray J D, Sancio R B, Durgunoglu H T, Onalp A, Seed R B,
Stewart J P, Youd T L, Baturay M B, Cetin K O, Christensen
C, Karadayilar T & Emrem C, Ground failure in Adapazari,
Turkey, 15th ICSMGEg, TC4 satellite conference on Lessons
530 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 44, NO. 5 MAY 2015

learned from recent strong earthquakes, Istanbul, Turkey,
2001.
34 Bray J D, Sancio R B, Riemer M, Durgunoglu H T,
Liquefaction Susceptibility of Fine-Grained Soils, In:
Kammerer, Doolin, Nogami, Seed, Towhata (Eds.), Proc.
11th Inter. Conf. On Soil Dynamics and Earthquake
Engineering and 3rd Inter. Conf. On Earthquake
Geotechnical Engrg 1, Jan. 79. Stallion Press, Berkeley,
CA, 2004, pp. 655662.
35 Sert S, Ozocak A, Ural N, The Use of Geographical
Information Systems for Geotechnical Purposes in
Adapazar, 4th GIS Days in Turkiye, September 13-16, Fatih
University, Istanbul, Turkiye, 2006.