Thousands of Buildings Collapsed in One Turkish City. Thousands More May Have to Come Down.

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Mr. Genes, an engineering professor, said the damage underscored the importance of listening to scientists. Ten years ago, Mr. Genes was part of a team that analyzed the potential damage in Antakya from an earthquake and found that many buildings were assessed as vulnerable to collapse.


Map showing the strongest tremors during the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in southern Turkey. The shaking was strongest along the fault in the region and some of the heaviest tremors occurred in Antakya.






Source: USGS

The shaking intensity shown is only for the first February 6 earthquake.

By Scott Reinhard

“Politicians don’t care what science says,” Mr. Genes said. “They always think how to get political support. Therefore, in very bad soil conditions, just for people to get a lot of money in a short time, they allow to build a 10-story building in Antakya, or more than 10. It is possible, but you must make a large investment in the foundation or soil improvement.

After the earthquake, many buildings that were considered vulnerable, in fact, collapsed.









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