Browsing by Author "Satilmis, S"

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    Floods of Gediz River and Disaster Management (1860-1901)
    Satilmis, S; Kaplan, KA
    In ancient times, when the measures taken against natural events were much more limited, the rivers overflowed relatively more frequently and caused significant damage to their surroundings. One of the rivers that overflowed frequently in the 19th century was the Gediz River, which took its source from the mountains to the east of the town of Gediz in Kutahya and flowed into the Aegean Sea after traveling 275 km. Between 1860 and 1901, it is known that there were about twenty floods in the main bed of the Gediz River and some of its branches feeding this stream. Those floods resulted in damage to people, animals, settlements, agriculture, commerce, transportation, communication, businesses and Izmir Port and thus caused huge economic loss. Ottoman government and local administrations took some important measures to minimize negative impacts of the floods of the Gediz River and initiated some aid programs to heal the wounds of the flood victims. Based on the analysis of some archive documents and newspapers of that time, this study aims to explain causes, results, and impacts of the floods of the Gediz river and comment on how Ottoman central and local authorities dealt with them.