Satellites Help Scientists Dig Out Turkish Quake Data Sun. This Spot satellite image of Golcuk, Turkey, shows the coastal town of 40,000, before it was hit by a severe earthquake last year. Golcuk was among the most heavily damaged by the quake This Spot satellite image of Golcuk, Turkey, shows the coastal town three days after the August 1999 earthquake.
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Such big pictures can't save lives or bring back Turkey's quake victims, but they are essential to understanding the physics of this dangerous region and evaluating its seismic risk, he said. Understanding answers to that and other questions could help engineers design and build homes and offices that are less deadly during temblors. The breakthrough satellites provide, though, still falls short of the goal of precisely anticipating earthquakes. Rapid response Within hours of the quake, rescuers frantically dug through debris. Firefighters battled a raging fire at Turkey's largest oil refinery at Izmit.