7.8 Devastation in Turkey
Turkey has quickly become the center of countless discussions following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck near the country’s border with Syria on February 6. Nine hours later, a staggering 7.7 aftershock brought further destruction to Turkey and Syria, and the resulting death toll of these quakes surpassed 41,000 as of February 14 (1, 2).
In the wake of these appalling numbers, people have grown angry at various construction companies and property developers, some of whom Turkish authorities have already detained. Of the 163 people under investigation for a connection to the unstable buildings and the consequential wreckage, “eight have been arrested and 48 are in police custody.” (1)
Here in Japan, though we are prone to earthquakes, we have a strong safety system in the foundations of buildings. Essentially, there are particular building codes that property developers and construction workers must abide by that protect residents from events such as this one. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, has been too lenient.
Videos have surfaced from a few years ago in which Erdogan boasted of allowing construction workers to skip aforementioned codes: "We solved the problem of 144,156 citizens of Maras with zoning amnesty," Erdogan said in the video. “Zoning amnesty” used here refers to the construction amnesties that can be given to allow contractors to disregard the safety codes that had been put in place specifically to make buildings and landscapes more resistant to earthquakes. (3) Engineers and architects say that this was likely one of the major contributors to the death toll and injuries in the recent quake.
The White Helmets, Syria’s Civil Defense volunteer organization, will fly their flags at half mast for seven days until February 20 to mourn the victims of this disaster in both countries (4).
