EKMAS projects consultant, Master Architect, Civil Engineer and Earthquake Specialist Yoshinori Moriwaki made important statements to CNN Türk.
Our country is located in an earthquake zone and for thousands of years, the lives taken and the pain caused by the earthquake have been repeated in these lands.
Having experienced the disaster of the century 6 months ago, Turkey has entrusted thousands of its children to the cold soil. The houses bought with many dreams became graves for many. The earthquake was the fate of these lands, but death did not suit any of them.
On the other hand, urban transformation and strengthening of structures, on which geology and earthquake experts insist, are applied successfully, especially by countries located in the earthquake zone. In these applications, eyes are turned to Japan, but considering its economic structure, Chile is another country that takes the lead in this victory.
Experts, who are waiting for a big earthquake for Istanbul, underline that the bells are ringing for Istanbul and that if a great mobilization is not started, there will be great destruction. Moriwaki explains this dire situation with these words:
“Earthquake can reach 7.6, 7.9 magnitude. Earthquake is coming. It may happen 1 year later, 1 month later, or even 1 week later. There are also soft soils on Atatürk Airport, Zeytinburnu, Küçükçekmece, Avcılar, Büyükçekmece and Fatih sides where the risk is highest. Anatolia Tuzla, Pendik and the seaside sides on its side.”
Drawing attention to the ground structure, Yoshinori Moriwaki, “We saw this in the 99 earthquake. There was a lot of shaking here. If the ground is soft, it is a problem. Hatay is bad, why? Because the ground is soft. These buildings are attached and all of them were built before 2000. There will be a lot of damage in these buildings. “ said.
Using the phrase “coffin building”, Moriwaki used the following expressions to prevent our homes, which are our home, from becoming graves for us, like death waiting insidiously.
“Urgent urban transformation is necessary. Both the Vice President and the Minister of Environment said this, it is necessary to do it urgently.”
Example Country in Combating Earthquake, Chile
Chile, a South American country located in the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, known as one of the most active earthquake belts in the world, set as an example for earthquake damage prevention, can be a role model for our country.
David Basulto, the founder of the Chile-based international architecture platform ArchDaily, explains what stage they are in in the fight against the earthquake in Chile, with the words “even if there is an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 today, I will not get out of my bed”.
When we take a look at the history of Chile, where earthquakes that could not be overcome in Turkey were experienced, we see that it experienced the biggest earthquake that can be measured with modern methods.
Losing thousands of people in the 9.5 magnitude Valdivia earthquake in 1960, Chile entered a major reform process.
Solution Strict Zoning Laws
Behind this great success are strict zoning laws. Experts explain the important topics as follows.
Strict zoning laws, monitoring and updating of the relevant regulations after each earthquake, large and small, culture of preparedness for disasters in the community, widespread education on disasters extending to kindergartens, effective early warning systems about tsunami, dialogue developed between administrators and citizens on disasters.
Experts say that it is not possible to construct a building without a ground survey report and emphasize that zoning amnesty is unacceptable.
Consequences of the Reforms
In Chile, which showed that they were advancing on the right methods with a small number of casualties after major earthquakes, earthquakes are now recovered with little damage.
For example, the 9.2 magnitude Maule earthquake in 2010 killed more than 500 people.
In 2015, 13 people lost their lives in the 8.3 magnitude Illapel earthquake, which lasted more than 3 minutes.
No one lost their lives in the Chiloé earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 in 2016.