Turkiye has for years tempted fate by not enforcing modern construction codes while allowing -- and in some cases, encouraging -- a real estate boom in earthquake-prone areas, experts say. The lax enforcement, which experts in geology and engineering have long warned about, is gaining renewed scrutiny in the aftermath of this week's devastating earthquakes.
Turkiye has for years tempted fate by not enforcing modern construction codes while allowing -- and in some cases, encouraging -- a real estate boom in earthquake-prone areas, experts say.
He said that includes many old buildings, but also apartments erected in recent years -- nearly two decades after the country brought its building codes up to modern standards. "The building stock in the area was weak and not sturdy, despite the reality of earthquakes," Muhcu said. In a country crisscrossed by geological fault lines, people are on edge about when and where the next earthquake might hit -- particularly in Istanbul, a city of more than 15 million that is vulnerable to quakes.
As part of that amnesty program, the government agency responsible for enforcing building codes acknowledged that more than half of all buildings in Turkiye -- accounting for some 13 million apartments-- were not in compliance with current standards. In 2021, the Chamber of Geological Engineers of Turkiye published a series of reports raising red flags about existing buildings and new construction taking place in areas levelled by this week's quakes, including Kahramanmaras, Hatay and Osmaniye. The Chamber urged the government to conduct studies to ensure that buildings were up to code and built on safe locations.
"We are paying for it with thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of buildings, economic losses," Muhcu said.In Hatay province, where casualties were highest and an airport runway and two public hospitals were destroyed, survivor Bestami Coskuner said he saw many new buildings, even "flashy" new ones had collapsed.
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