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Support Needs of the Survivors of the August 17, 1999 Earthquake in Turkey

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Abstract

This paper aims to present a sociological analysis of social supportrelated to disaster sociology in general and earthquakes specifically.The analysis is based on field research conducted a year after the17 August 1999 East Marmara Earthquake where 18000 people died;50000 people injured; 5000 buildings collapsed and 340000 of themdamaged; 14513 businesses closed; 150000 people became unemployed;and 129338 forced to live in prefabricated houses. The researchprimarily aims to understand the support needs by focusing mainlyon the following issues about the earthquake survivors: (i) whichand what support types and areas are mostly desired by them; (ii)which independent variables are the most effective on their demands;and (iii) from which persons or institutions they have receivedsupport and wanted to be supported by. Marginal development of thecivil society; high degree of expectations of almost everythingfrom the state; psychological factors being less influentialcompared with West and education being the primary influentialfactor are some of the significant results of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Aytül Kasapoğlu

  2. Department of Sociology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    Yildiz Ecevit

  3. Department of Sociology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    Mehmet Ecevit

Authors
  1. Aytül Kasapoğlu
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  2. Yildiz Ecevit
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  3. Mehmet Ecevit
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Kasapoğlu, A., Ecevit, Y. & Ecevit, M. Support Needs of the Survivors of the August 17, 1999 Earthquake in Turkey. Social Indicators Research 66, 229–248 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000003584.27504.f0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000003584.27504.f0

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