The Devastation of the Turkey Quake: Who is to Blame?

Though natural disasters are unavoidable, since the beginning of time man has searched for ways to deal with mother nature, wisely knowing she cannot be tamed. Shelter has been one form of this protection; with each passing year we learn how to perfect it. However, tragic events like the Turkey quake remind us that we are still mortals and disaster cannot be escaped. Official numbers of the dead are reported at a staggering 12,000-14,000, while some fear the actual number may reach to 40,000. Turkey is accustomed to quakes and in this century has experienced many near the magnitude of the August 17 quake (see Arabia Online's Chronology of Major Turkey Earthquakes). However Turkey, and the world for that matter, is not accustomed to the serious death toll this earthquake has caused.

In October of 1989 San Francisco experienced an earthquake of near a magnitude 7 which resulted in destruction and loss of life but nothing near what occurred in Turkey. The San Francisco area is also accustomed to earthquakes and because of it many buildings have and continue to be seismically retrofitted and redesigned in order to deal with quake forces, which reduced the amount of devastation. The question then remains for Turkey is whether this disaster was unavoidable and could only be dealt with after it occurred or could many of these lives have been spared with the proper precautions?

Background on the Quake

The quake hit early Tuesday, August 17 while many were still sleeping in their beds. Varying estimates put the quake at between 6.5 and 7.4. The epicenter was in Izmit, an industrial city in western Turkey. Izmit was of course the hardest hit while other cities suffering damage and loss of life are Istanbul, Golcuk, Sakarya, Bursa, Eskisehir, and Yalova. The tremor was also felt as far away as Bulgaria and Greece. Although the quake seemed to take Turkey by surprise, people were well aware that this was an earthquake-prone country.Some specialists even had predicted a quake in this area would soon hit(see Wrath of Nature or State Crime?). This is the reason many are now questioning the government and its lack of responsibility in dealing with this beforehand, as well as lack of rescue coordination and preparedness after the quake hit.

Survivors React to Destruction

The survivors as well as architects and engineers in Turkey tend to say the large numbers of citizens killed by this quake could definitely have been avoided, according to recent reports. They put the blame on the government, which allowed its local officials to ignore Turkey's strict building codes and to work with contractors who use cheap materials and no permits (see CNN's Ecevit says building standards to improve). In one report the secretary general of Turkey's Architects and Engineers Union was quoted as saying "The local governments as well as the central government , bypassing the existing legislation, allow settlements on river beds and (geological) fault zones. The construction companies produce low-quality buildings, free of any control," (Wrath of Nature or State Crime?).

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