In its statement, Türkkan said that thousands of buildings and tens of thousands of houses were completely destroyed in the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes, which had their epicenter in Kahramanmaraş and affected 10 provinces, and that it is still unknown the number of buildings damaged.

Pointing to the risky housing stock across the country, Türkkan said:

“There is talk of 6-7 million risk residences throughout Turkey. 5 million of these houses, which are expected to be damaged in a strong earthquake, can be saved by retrofitting. 600 thousand of these homes are in Istanbul.

Immediate action is required for 150,000 of these 600,000 residences. Turkey cannot afford to wait. It should start immediately. It is vital that we get rid of these risky structures, especially in Istanbul, as soon as possible.”

RISKY BUILDINGS CAN BE SAVED

Sinan Türkkan said that modernization can be done much faster and at a lower cost than demolition and reconstruction, and that demolition of houses expected to be damaged in a severe earthquake can be prevented in this way.

Taking into account that possible earthquake scenarios are always discussed, but efforts to prevent losses may be insufficient, Türkkan made the following assessments:

“We have to act fast. Earthquake reinforcement is carried out with completely scientific methods and the most ideal methods are determined after long-term studies. When identifying the risk building, first of all, laboratory work and field studies are carried out.

We then extract the static analysis, cost analysis, and compliance analysis, respectively. Finally, we identify what needs to be done and decide whether the building will be remodeled or transformed. Both the newly built building and the reinforced building are designed to ensure life safety in case of earthquakes.”

‘THE RIGHT SOIL MUST BE MEETED WITH THE RIGHT MATERIAL’

DEGUDER President Türkkan stated that they saw that the load-bearing columns in some of the buildings destroyed in the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş were crushed and said, “The earthquake may be fate, but the collapse and collapse of buildings is never the destination. The building is damaged but must not collapse. I see the crumbling columns in the collapsed building. I’ve even heard that some of them are new. Normally, it cannot be destroyed this way. The reason for this is the wrong project made with the wrong material on the wrong soil. It is due to the poor quality of the material and the lack of control. Buildings are currently inspected by building inspection companies and municipalities.

Expressing that the demolition of a newly built building is a great shame, Türkkan said: “But as I said, the reason is the lack of inspection and poor-quality materials. Otherwise, we currently have an international earthquake regulation. There is no problem there. When the right floor, the right material, and the right system come together, there will never be a collapse.” (AA)