In a city in the southeastern part of Turkiye hit by a strong earthquake, attention is focused on not a single casualty and not a single building collapsing.
According to local media such as Business Turkey Today on the 11th (local time), there were no casualties or building collapses in Erzin, a city with a population of 42,000 in Turkey, Hatay.
Hatay is the worst-affected of the 10 provinces affected by the earthquake. Of the more than 20,000 Turkiye earthquake deaths, more than 3,000 were killed in Hatay province alone. Erzin is the only city in Hatay Province where no casualties were reported.
The place marked by an arrow is the Erzin region of Hatay Province in southeastern Turkey. google mapIt was thanks to Mayor Erzin’s decision not to allow illegal construction that the residents were able to be protected from the strong earthquake.
“We did not lose our lives in the earthquake,” Erzin Mayor Ökes Elmasoglu said. The building did not collapse, so there is no debris,” he said. “We did not allow illegal construction.”
He said, “I have never tolerated illegal construction. Because of this, he bought a strong backlash and heard a lot of voices saying, ‘Is there no honest person in this country other than you?’” he said. However, as a result of not giving in and allowing illegal construction until the end, there was no damage during this major earthquake.
Mayor El Masoglu said, “Since construction and related policies are directly related to the safety of residents, we tried not to intervene in politics.” did.
Experts also believe that high-intensity building regulations that prevent illegal construction can prevent earthquake damage. Dr. Nasi Gorur, an earthquake expert, said, “We need to build earthquake-resistant cities in order to continue living in the midst of strong earthquakes. Erzin is an example,” he said. “As Mayor Elmasoglu said, (controlling illegal buildings) has the effect of protecting against earthquakes.”
However, there is also an analysis that Erzin had a lower earthquake intensity than other cities in Hatay Province. Okan Turres, professor emeritus at Istanbul University, said, “There is no fault movement near Erzin. There is a fault 30 to 40 km away, but there is a large mountain mass called Amanos in between, so it will be difficult to feel the vibration,” he explained.
On the afternoon of the 12th (local time), rescue and recovery work is underway at the earthquake-damaged site in Turkey, Kahramanmaras. Kahramanmarash = NewsisAccording to authorities, as of the 12th, the death toll from the earthquake that occurred on the 6th was 29,605 in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria, for a total of 33,179 people.
In Turkiye, when even a new building that passed anti-vibration regulations collapsed, the theory of responsibility for poor construction came to the fore.
In addition, public anger is growing as it is unclear where the 88 billion lira (approximately 5.9 trillion won) of earthquake taxes will be used. After the 1999 earthquake in northwestern Izmit, the Turkiye government has imposed an earthquake tax, saying it will be used to prevent disasters and improve emergency services. During this disaster, citizens said, “For the first 12 hours after the disaster, the rescue team did not arrive at the scene. Where is my tax money being spent?”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.