العربية
Turkish authorities arrest contractors in connection with collapsed buildings in the February 6 earthquake,
Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for more than 130 people in connection
with collapsed buildings caused by the devastating earthquake between Turkey and Syria on February 6.
Turkish BBC News quoted Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag as saying that 134 people,
including contractors, engineers and architects, have been identified.
While Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced in his latest statement that 131 suspects linked to the destroyed buildings had been identified.
And the Turkish BBC News reported that the number of detainees in the scope of investigations into the earthquake crimes rose to 8.
While the death toll in the Kahramanmaraş earthquake rose to 418.35,
search and rescue teams are still searching for more people in the quake districts.
It is believed that people can still be saved alive as long as rescue teams continue to search.
Establishing investigation offices in earthquake crimes
The Ministry of Justice issued a declaration to the Public Prosecution Offices in the governorates affected by the earthquake,
and demanded the establishment of offices to investigate earthquake crimes regarding destroyed and collapsed buildings.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said,
“We will follow this matter closely until the completion of the necessary judicial procedures, especially for buildings that were severely damaged and buildings that caused deaths and injuries.”
According to the Ministry of Justice’s announcement,
the Bureau’s tasks will include: Efforts to identify contractors, responsible technical staff,
surveyors, and others responsible for demolished buildings.
The announcement stated that “the necessary investigations will be conducted immediately for those found responsible,
and the necessary protection measures will be taken immediately for the possibility of escape and obfuscation of evidence.”
The declaration also covers various topics, such as coordinating the collection of evidence,
and establishing an expert committee consisting of architects, geologists,
civil engineers and other experts to prepare a report on the subject.
Outdated building methods and poor building codes
Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Corum said that 24,921 out of more than 170,000 buildings in southern Turkey were either destroyed or severely damaged.
He explained that one of the collapsed buildings belonged to the Rönesans Residence architect and contractor Mehmet Yasar Coskun.
His building was a 12-story, 250-apartment building in Antakya,
which was built a decade ago, and has completely collapsed.
Mehmet Yasar Coskun was detained at Istanbul airport before he was about to flee to Montenegro.
Reuters quoted Coskun as saying in his withheld testimony that he did not know the cause of the building’s collapse.
Coskun told the local Anadolu news agency:
“We have carried out all the procedures stipulated in the legislation,
all licenses have been obtained.”
The large scale of the earthquake
Given the large scale of the earthquake, it is believed that poor building codes,
outdated construction methods, lack of inspection,
and lack of enforcement of earthquake regulations in Turkey exacerbated the scale of the damage.
The quality and safety of buildings in Turkey was increased with the new law after the August 17, 1999 Kocaeli earthquake and November 12, 1999 Duzce earthquake.
However, it is reported that 52% of the destroyed buildings are buildings built after 2001,
i.e. after the August 17, 1999 Kocaeli and November 12, 1999 Duzce earthquakes.
This coincides with the arrival of the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to power in 2002.
Prof. Dr. Oguz Cem Celik, Professor of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University (ITU),
Lecturer in the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Unit, told CNN Türk:
“52% of the group of buildings in the geography affected by the earthquake are the buildings constructed after 2001,
in other words, after the August 17, 1999 Kocaeli and November 12, 1999 Duzce earthquakes.”
“This is actually a very important percentage,” Celik said.
While a higher rate of reconstruction would result in better seismic performance,
the collapse of some buildings built in the process in the last two earthquakes in the region is as worrying as it is distressing.”
Another reason for the destruction is believed to be a government-initiated “building amnesty”,
which is the official permission for illegal buildings with a “building registration certificate” granted to buildings that violate zoning legislation.
A total of 9 construction amnesties were issued during the Erdogan government’s 20-year rule, encouraging a construction boom in Turkey.
In addition, 294,166 buildings benefited from the building amnesty in 10 earthquake-affected provinces.
Destiny plan
Erdogan acknowledged that there were some shortcomings during his visit to the disaster area, and denied these allegations and said:
“Things like this always happened.”
“This is part of fate’s plan,” Erdogan said.
“For buildings in Turkey that are more than three stories high, the usual construction method is to use reinforced concrete,” said UCLA engineering professor Jonathan Stewart, according to an NPR report.
“The columns and beams are typically concrete,” Stewart told NPR.
“There is a kind of masonry filler block inside these tires,
which disintegrates very quickly when the vibration starts.”
“The assessment very much matches what she saw in the images of destruction in Turkey,” said Abby Lyell,
an engineer and professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.
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