The most attractive place in Turkey is the “cultural capital” of the country, where thousands of people come from Russia tourists on weekend tours, is now deadly for its residents and tourists. The Turkish geologist Okan Tuysuz from the Istanbul Technical University noted this next forecast on the pages of the Hurriyet newspaper. The reason is the low seismic resistance of buildings in Istanbul, most of which will inevitably collapse at the first strong shock, burying all residents under their ruins.
According to the expert, about 70% of the buildings in Istanbul are not earthquake resistant, that is, to ensure some kind of safety for local residents and tourists, about 90 thousand buildings need to either be demolished and rebuilt, or at least strengthened.
“The first rule in an earthquake is to reduce the risk. If at least one person lives in each of these buildings, 90,000 lives could be saved by this step,” said Mr. Tuysuz. He called for the help of civil engineers, geologists and geophysicists. “If the country takes action, it can form an emergency scientific army. I would very urgently convene a scientific commission, first of all I would determine what needs to be done, ”he emphasized.
Recall that it is this expert who is the author of the seismological hazard map of Turkey, which is rather “straining” for tourists. According to it, more than half of all provinces of the country turned out to be on the seismic fault line: 45 out of 81. Moreover, such well-known holiday destinations as Antalya, Istanbul, Mugla, known for the resorts of Bodrum, Marmaris, etc., Izmir, where the Russians were planning to go on vacation in the spring and summer. The geologist stated that the exact location of most of the faults is unknown, so it is difficult to point to specific places that are most at risk. Read the details in this article.
His colleague, Hussein Alan, by the way, counts fewer such provinces – only 24 provinces, including “capital cities and popular resorts.” He emphasized that settlements near the fault should not be allowed through the introduction of a law or decree on the fault. “If a real estate agent is going to sell a house within 100 meters of the danger zone, he must notify,” explained Alan. According to him, the previous act on natural disasters, dated 1959, must be immediately updated in accordance with today's circumstances and technological capabilities.
He also commented on the forecasts for Istanbul. Mr. Alan noted that for a metropolis of almost 16 million people, an urgent strategic risk reduction plan needs to be prepared. In particular, the city needs to conduct a “fresh tsunami risk analysis” and demolish all buildings at risk, primarily in riverbeds. Recall, by the way, that a significant part of the “risk zones” is occupied by tourist infrastructure, since these are mainly coasts with a good view.
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