FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Department of Civil Engineering
“Our primary focus should be earthquakes”
Prof. Dr. Celalettin Kozanoğlu, Head of Department of Civil Engineering, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), made critical warnings for Izmir on the 25th anniversary of the August 17 Marmara Earthquake. Emphasizing that approximately 36% of the approximately 903 thousand buildings in Izmir are illegal, and 52% were constructed according to the pre-1998 earthquake regulations, Professor Dr. Kozanoğlu stated that risky buildings must be identified and action must be taken immediately. Kozanoğlu said, “Our most important issue, our primary focus should be earthquakes. Let’s ensure that Izmir does not experience its own August 17 earthquake. Let’s listen to science and not say ‘nothing will happen to us.’”
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Gölcük on August 17, 1999, resulted in the deaths of 17 thousand 480 people. Even though a quarter of a century has passed since the earthquake, the pain has never been forgotten, and August 17 has been recorded as a date of great destruction.
Prof. Dr. Celalettin Kozanoğlu pointed out that the earthquake has never been forgotten in Turkey, and made important warnings for Izmir.
IZMIR’S EARTHQUAKE REPORT CARD IS NOT GOOD
Stating that we should be afraid not of earthquakes but of dilapidated buildings, Prof. Dr. Kozanoğlu said, “The earthquake that occurred on October 30, 2020, which caused destruction and a large number of casualties, particularly in Bayraklı, showed that Izmir’s earthquake report card is not good. It clearly demonstrated that measures need to be taken in the city. According to the disaster study conducted by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, 36% of the buildings in the city are illegal, and 52% were constructed according to pre-1998 earthquake regulations. Only 12% of buildings were constructed according to the post-1998 earthquake regulations. I am not saying that all old buildings are risky. It would be unscientific to claim this. Of course, there are old but very solid buildings. We can only determine this through tests. The fact that the building stock is old shows that we must take action and carry out the necessary inspections. The earthquake won’t wait for us, it won’t tell us when it will come. We should not waste time on this matter; we must work in collaboration with all stakeholders.”
WE SHOULD FOCUS ON SAFETY
Expressing that citizens should also act sensitively and consciously on this issue, Prof. Dr. Kozanoğlu said, “It’s 2024; yet we are still talking about cut columns, damaged beams, and illegally constructed additional floors. We make unnecessary additions to buildings for aesthetic reasons, disrupting the structure’s system. We hear people saying, ‘The core test weakens the building’ or ‘Even a drill can hardly pierce my wall, nothing will happen to this building.’ All of these are wrong. The core test does not weaken the building, and the safety of a building cannot be understood by looking from the outside or by tapping on the wall. Cutting a column means attempted murder. During the urban transformation process, we sometimes focus too much on square meters, sometimes on the size of a room or the living room. I’m not saying we shouldn’t think about these things, but while focusing on them, let’s not forget that safety is more important than anything else.”
BE CAREFUL WITH ADDITIONS MADE LATER
Pointing out that attention should be paid to additions made to the building later and to water tanks placed on the roofs of buildings, Prof. Dr. Kozanoğlu said, “Additions to the building should be determined in advance in the architectural project. If you design the architectural project so that a water tank can be added on top of the building, the engineer will do the static calculations accordingly. In other words, the building will be constructed strong enough to carry the water tank in case of a possible earthquake. What are we doing? We place the water tank on the building according to our own desires, without it being included in any static calculations or planning. Was this load calculated when the building was constructed? Unfortunately, the answer is no. This is precisely where the problem begins, putting even a solid building at risk. We saw these issues very clearly in buildings that collapsed or were damaged during earthquakes.”
A BUILDING SHOULDN'T COLLAPSE JUST BECAUSE THE GROUND IS BAD
Stating that poor ground conditions should not be the sole reason for a building’s collapse, Professor Dr. Kozanoğlu said, “If you prepare the project according to the ground conditions and apply it correctly, your building will withstand an earthquake. Even if the ground is bad, the building will be solid. I do not accept the claim that a building collapsed because of poor ground. Is it so difficult to study the soil, to carry out scientific analyses? I always give this example; today, we build 15-story ships and place them on water. This is because we understand and know water very well. If we understand and study the soil as well as we know water, our buildings won’t suffer any damage. We saw this in the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. It’s not the earthquake or the soil that kills; it’s the building that is inadequately and incorrectly constructed that kills.”
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