In earthquake-prone Turkey, fury rises over poor construction standards after buildings suffer ‘pancake collapse’

More than 12,000 buildings, some constructed only six months ago, fell apart in a country where construction firms that are often close to the government overlook safety standards
Experts also blamed poor concrete grade, relaxed regulations and engineers and architects’ low quality of education for the catastrophe

Turkey

Agence France-Presse

Published: 11:58am, 11 Feb 2023

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The flats they once industriously spent so long saving up for, decorating and making comfortable now lie in a heap of rubble after a violent quake hit Turkey.

New and old buildings, some constructed only six months ago, fell apart. Others flattened like concrete pancakes.

The full extent of the damage is unknown from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor and ceaseless aftershocks, which unleashed catastrophe in Turkey and Syria, killing more than 24,000 people.

Turkey’s death toll rises every day. In parallel, so has fury over why, in a country with multiple fault lines and a history of major jolts, building quality is so poor that buildings fall apart like paper.

Experts say Turkey has the regulations in place to prevent such a catastrophe. But they are only applied loosely by construction companies, the largest of which are often close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in Turkey.

In Turkey’s worst quake-hit area, desperate screams from the rubble

Since the first quake was so huge, “damage was to be expected, but not the type of damage that you are seeing now”, said Mustafa Erdik, a professor at Istanbul-based Bogazici University.

Even if a building topples, people can usually hide until searchers can rescue them, he said.

But this time, he added, buildings suffered “a pancake collapse”.

“The floors are piling on top of each other,” Erdik, also part of the Turkish Earthquake Foundation said, which means the chances of being found alive are slim.

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Turkey quake survivor waited for rescue among dead loved ones

So why did the buildings topple?

The causes are usually linked to the poor quality of the concrete, which sometimes is mixed with too much water and gravel, and too little concrete, according to Zihni Tekin, a consultant at Istanbul Technical University.

Other reasons include steel rods that are too thin to support the columns, which limit the building’s strength, the engineer said.

But Tekin also blamed engineers and architects’ low quality of education, despite private universities appearing across Turkey.

Turkish officials have also gambled by easing regulations.

Turkey’s rules on construction, based on California’s, have been regularly revised since a 1999 tremor in northwestern Turkey.

The last revision came in 2018.

Syrian baby born under rubble is one of untold numbers of quake orphans

“On paper, standards are respected, with contracts entrusted to private companies in charge of checking them,” Istanbul architect Aykut Koksal said.

But oversight of these agreements is lax, he added, giving builders greater leeway in following – or not – the rules.

Heavy bureaucratic procedures also end up diluting who is responsible if or when something goes wrong, Erdik said.

“The steps and signatories are so many that at the end, it is difficult to identify who is responsible.”

To fix this issue, he recommends imposing an insurance on all actors against malpractice that guarantees victims compensation by guilty contractors.

“That’s how it is elsewhere in the world and it should be in Turkey,” he said.

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in Turkey. Photo: AFP

The clear negligence and greed shown by some contractors has sparked fury, especially after luxury flats built within the last 20 years crumbled like a pack of cards.

Many hope this quake will finally lead to better monitoring.

The first legal complaint was made on Friday in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir and others have followed.

What has particularly raised hackles is the importance Erdogan has placed on construction since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002.

The boom in construction powered the substantial economic growth under Erdogan in the early years of his rule.

Official figures show the number of companies operating in the real estate sector increased by 43 per cent in 10 years, reaching 127,000 before the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.