Killer Earthquake in Istanbul, Turkey On August 17, 1999, Istanbul, Turkey, had an earthquake that lasted 45 seconds and in those 45 seconds killed approximately 18,000 people. The death toll in the earthquake rose to 13,040 people and 26,640 people were injured. People are still believed to be underneath the rubble of the earthquake. More than 200,000 people are homeless. All of these injuries and deaths in Istanbul, Turkey are blamed on the building codes of the state. The building codes of the state of Turkey were not very secure and processed on how it would affect the way an earthquake would