The massive earthquake that shook southeastern Turkey was a huge tragedy for the region because of the scale of the consequences. Especially for readers, Turk.Estate decided to share some important news and information about this in the article.
Content:
- Why is the damage so great?
- What buildings weren’t destroyed?
- Official building codes in Turkey
- What is being done in the construction sector?
- The safest and most dangerous provinces of Turkey
- Where to apply for checking the earthquake resistance of the building?
- Do not forget about insurance
Why is the damage so great?
The main question is how the earthquake, which the country was supposed to be prepared for, caused so many victims. More than 90% of the houses that collapsed were built before 2000. Old buildings collapsed alongside new ones built later than 2000 and even brand-new ones that were supposed to be earthquake-resistant, according to approved (and thoroughly tested) technologies. Why so?
The main answer, unfortunately, is obvious: violations of construction rules that went unnoticed. The culprits are being sought, and they will be punished. Vice-President of the Republic of Turkey Fuat Oktay officially announced a special investigation into the incident. The Anadolu agency writes with reference to the words of the vice-president that over 130 people have been added to the suspect pool, including those who approved projects that were powerless before the earthquake – despite the fact that Turkish buildings are expected to withstand tremors of up to 9.0.
Some of the suspects have been arrested, according to media reports; more than a hundred arrest warrants have been issued. For example, Mehmet Yashar Joshkun, the chief architect of the Rönesans Residence residential complex, was arrested in one of the Istanbul airports. The complex built in one of the most affected provinces – in Hatay – was completely destroyed after the tremors. The residential complex is new and was commissioned in 2012, and the apartments were sold for 1.5 to 3 million Turkish lira, which is equivalent at the then exchange rate to $0.8–1.6 million. The architect tried to escape from the country to Montenegro, where his company is officially registered.
It also became known that about 170 lawyers filed lawsuits against developers of several residential complexes in the provinces where the disaster took place, demanding that the Prosecutor General's Office forbid them to leave the country.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ told the media that no one would go unpunished for the negligence that had caused so many buildings to collapse.
Moreover, important social institutions, such as schools, hospitals, etc., which had to be constructed according to all building regulations, were also affected in the country.
What buildings weren’t destroyed?
The good news is that there are buildings in the epicenter where there are few or zero victims. For example, the city of Erzin, Hatay province, has no building that collapsed. The mayor of the city, who is famous for increased meticulousness and incorruptibility, carefully controlled the construction, preventing developers from deviating from the required standards to save money.
Moreover, all the buildings of the state developer survived in the area of the earthquake – a giant one, equal in size to some European countries. None of the buildings erected by the Office of Mass Housing (TOKİ) collapsed in all 10 most affected provinces. They remained habitable. This is 133,759 (!) housing units.
Why? This is due to construction competence, compliance with technology and the most thorough control. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change together with TOKİ have been building social housing for low-income citizens for more than 20 years. According to official data, TOKİ has put into operation over 1.18 million residences since 2002.
Official building codes in Turkey
For construction projects, commissioned by the Housing Construction Department, first, an act of surveying is drawn up. Based on the data, design studies are carried out on all laws and regulations in the construction sphere, especially the Earthquake Regulations.
TOKİ uses antiseismic solutions, such as earthquake-resistant radial foundation, tunnel formwork support system, high-strength concrete, etc. All together, this minimizes the impulse from tremors and damage to the building. Thus, the structure of the houses is preserved. This was confirmed with two terrible aftershocks in 10 provinces, including Kahramanmaraş, Hatay and Adıyaman, where there were two consecutive earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 in 9 hours.
Moreover, people who lived in TOKİ houses can return home, unlike many other families affected by force majeure: the authorities have sent permission to the provincial governors.
Unfortunately, because of more than 1,500 aftershocks, including two of the most powerful, 6,444 buildings collapsed.
So, the main thing for those who want to buy a house in Turkey: it will not be possible to avoid earthquakes in this country. However, you can check the developer by choosing the most reliable companies and ask for detailed information on the house you are interested in: for example, how safe and earthquake-resistant it is. Don’t forget to renew DASK's mandatory earthquake insurance every year.
What other tips and recommendations do experts give?
What is being done in the construction sector?
In addition to finding the culprits and strengthening checks, technologies are being reviewed. Yavuz Işık, President of the Turkish Ready Mixed Concrete Association (THBB), said: "70% of buildings in Turkey are under threat of earthquakes. The construction of millions of houses built before 2000 does not meet the requirements. As for the new buildings, we will determine why they collapsed. It is likely that there was either no correct soil assessment or insufficient control over materials; or that the approved project was not properly constructed. As there were no problems with earthquake-resistant buildings.
In 2018, the rules were revised again, and the concrete class was raised to C25; however, it needs to be raised to C30 at least, no matter the building will be low- or high-rise."
The safest and most dangerous provinces of Turkey
In addition to the "earthquake risk map", published by AFAD and distributed in the media of almost all countries that wrote about Turkey, one of the key experts on earthquakes in Turkey, Professor Övgün Ahmet Ercan highlighted the provinces with the lowest risk of earthquakes. What are they like?
These are Konya, Karaman, Artvin, Rize, Ordu, Giresun, Samsun, Yozgat, Sinop, Kastamonu, Bartin, Kırklareli, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Aksaray, Niğde, Mardin, Şırnak, Siirt, Batman, Ardahan, Mersin and Antalya, Ankara and Zonguldak.
Conversely, the most dangerous provinces include Istanbul, Izmir, Erzincan, Bingöl, Sakarya, Düzce, Yalova: they had suffered from devastating earthquakes before. The list of provinces with a high risk of earthquakes also includes Siirt, Osmaniye, Hakkâri, Çanakkale, Amasya, Tokat, Hatay, Karabük, Bolu, Manisa, Muğla, Aydın and Balıkesir.
Where to apply for checking the earthquake resistance of the building?
After the earthquake, people wonder if the houses they live in are resistant to aftershocks.
Firstly, as we have repeatedly written, it is necessary to carefully choose buildings built before 2000 for living.
Secondly, no matter how well the project was thought out and how high-quality the materials were, the soil on which the building was built is crucial. A stream nearby, voids and soft soils create a danger of earthquakes, because underground moisture erodes the ground: even if underground water flows somewhere, over time it accumulates again.
The construction project must comply with both the earthquake resistance rules and all other legislative requirements.
There were many problems due to defects in the bearing systems of buildings – columns and beams. The fact that there were no cracks in the bearing system does not mean that it is earthquake-resistant: there may be flaws that are invisible. They require special knowledge.
Specialists should also check the quality of concrete, because, unfortunately, some developers save money on it.
In any case, residents cannot check whether their houses are earthquake-resistant or not: they have neither the relevant knowledge nor access to the necessary documentation.
However, you can apply to institutions approved by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change by requesting a report: you will get a clear idea of the building and how earthquake-resistant it is.
In light of these developments, these reports will be prepared free of charge in some time at the request of applicants in Istanbul, as the authorities are interested in checking as many residential buildings as possible. The municipality has stepped up inspections of buildings built before 2000. You can apply for a risk report on the website http://binatespiti.ibb.istanbul/.
Why was Istanbul mentioned first? Because it is one of the most earthquake–prone provinces, along with Izmir. Moreover, it is the largest metropolis with most of the old buildings, including those in pre-emergency or emergency condition.
Sinan Turkkan, President of the Earthquake Control Association (DEGÜDER), called for the speedy strengthening of several million housing units in Turkey, of which 0.6 million are located in Istanbul. Stressing that there are about 6-7 million emergency residential buildings throughout Turkey, Mr. Turkan said: "5 million of these houses, which are expected to be damaged by a severe earthquake, can be saved by upgrading."
In addition, we need to take action as soon as possible: "It is vital that we get rid of these risky structures, especially in Istanbul." The expert also recalled that it is possible to strengthen buildings much faster and at a much lower cost than it will take time to demolish buildings and build new ones.
Do not forget about insurance
According to official data, published by the Institute of Disaster Insurance (DASK), half of the buildings destroyed by the earthquake were uninsured: in the 10 affected provinces, 1,118 million out of 2,175 buildings did not have an earthquake insurance policy. In Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the earthquake, only 113,000 out of 210,000 houses were insured: the insurance rate here is 53.8%. In Hatay, another affected province, the figure is 40.1%.
Over the past 20 years, there were 920 earthquakes in Turkey. Damages amounting to 1.446 billion Turkish liras were paid for approximately 105,000 insured claims for damage to or destruction of insured residences.
In 2022 alone, the beneficiaries were paid 183 million Turkish liras for 17,438 damaged lots as part of compensation for insured events.
As for the provinces, where citizens are more responsible about obtaining insurance, the highest insurance rates were recorded in Bolu (86.9%), Düzce (86.2%), Yalova (83.2%), Sakarya (79%), Van (71%), Kocaeli (67.1%) and Bingöl (64%).
Among the regions, the Marmara Sea ranks first with 63% average insurance coverage. It is followed by the Aegean Sea with 56% and Eastern Anatolia with 50.3%. The Black Sea region appears to be the least insured, with only 46.1%.