VAN - Participating in the damage assessment studies in the Andirin district of Maraş with a team of 74 people after the earthquake, Mihail Atik, President of IMO Van Branch said: "If the buildings had been built according to the earthquake regulations, we would have experienced 3 or 4 percent of the destruction."

 

Nearly 45,000 people have lost their lives in the earthquakes of 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes that took place on February 6 in Maraş center. After the earthquakes, the political parties, non-governmental organizations, professional chambers, institutions and organizations that came to the aid of the people in the region rolled up their sleeves for the reconstruction of the organization within the scope of solidarity. In Van, the Chamber of Civil Engineers (IMO), affiliated to the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), sent a team of 74 people to Maraş on February 17 for damage assessment.

 

Mihail Atik, Head of IMO Van Branch, who is involved in the work in the region, spoke about negligence and what should be done against possible earthquakes.

 

NEGLIGENCE KILLS, NOT EARTHQUAKE

 

Stating that they are carrying out damage assessment studies in the Andirin district of Maraş as a team, Atik said: “While conducting the study, we noticed that there is a mix in the observed damages. In other words, there were new buildings that were demolished and old and damaged buildings. There were also structures that were old but never damaged. Most of the destroyed buildings were newly constructed buildings; therefore, this situation tells us that; It is negligence, not the earthquake, that causes destruction or damage. We have seen that there are workmanship defects in the destroyed and damaged structures. We have identified dozens of defects, from the licensing of the buildings, the wrong design, the avoidance of materials, the pouring of concrete and its quality with the zoning amnesties. 95% of the destruction is caused by negligence."