ABSTRACT: in 1999, two great earthquakes occurred around izmit and Adapazarı and caused tremendous damage to human lives and structures in the area. These earthquakes occurred along the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) which is one of the major structures of Anatolia, extending more than 1000 km. from east to west* There are many historical earthquakes of big magnitudes along this fault line.. There is an obvious phenomena in that the hipocentres of these earthquakes are migrating from east to west along the NAF and this implies that another big earthquake may hit Istanbul at the western end of the A[AF. Istanbul is one of the largest cities in the .Middle East representing, a. centre of economic, industrial, and touristic destination of modern Turkey. Therefore, if a big earthquake hits İstanbul, it will be a catastrophic national emergency In order to manage the potential earthquake disaster in Istanbul it is necessary to prepare a seismic disaster prevention/mitigation plan, emergency rescue plan and restoration /retrofitting plan of the earthquake stricken area from middle to long-term measures.