With the Turkey/Syria earthquake death toll now exceeding 20,000 there is a major question to be answered. Why did so many newly constructed buildings collapse, even though they were supposed to be built following strict regulations?
The Turkish government has some squirming to do!!
This BBC article is a revelation:-
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.How about not building multistory housing in areas with a known high probability for earthquakes? Is it economics? We can’t afford to live in single level dwellings? What is our fascination with high rise buildings? And when did we stop holding our self accountable? It’s always “they” didn’t do this or “they” were negligent.
It’s a tragedy and I wish it did not happen. I hope that “they” learn from this event. But probably not.
TXLerins
Level 5
Feb 12, 2023
0
So far 130 of "them" have been arrested and charged. Many more will be tracked down, even some of those hiding behind political protection.
These builders and developers used extra sand and cheap cement, low grade "steel" and undersized columns. Some also added a few more floors on top of the approved plans, then paid the fine at the next government amnesty. Turkey is so corrupt that George Santos is in awe!
They had to build fast and took shortcuts. In the circumstances, it's remarkable that so many buildings stayed up. There's an expensive solution that won't be acted on fast enough to prevent more and more of the same, but there's an affordable solution which should be rolled out quickly in the form of earthquake-survival furniture. You need incompressible blocks of wood here and there through every apartment all the same height so that when the floors collapse together they're held further apart.One at either end of every bed would make a big difference, and you'd keep bottles of water, emergency rations and warm clothing under the bed as standard. This would lead to tens or hundreds of times as many survivors and make it inordinately easier to get them out.
David_Cooper
Level 7
Feb 10, 2023
1
It's what Allah wanted. They should be thankful.
CourtJester
Level 7
Feb 10, 2023
2
Where was God when they needed him most? Surely it must be a sin to build unsafe houses. I suspect someone got awfully rich by ignoring the rules.
Paul_Clamberer
Level 7
Feb 10, 2023
1
For a place prone to earthquakes the construction practices there are some of the worst in the world. No surprise that even newly constructed buildings collapsed. They will just rebuild using the same poor standards and it will happen again. I spent 3 years in Turkey. Visited Gaziantep, Istanbul, Adana and others. Saw the construction first hand. And even a mild quake while there.
Shaggy2018
Level 7
Feb 9, 2023
3
Did you read the article at the link? Many of the collapsed buildings were advertised as being up to current standards and were completed within the last two or three years. This is more than low standards; it is negligence and fraud.
Building regulations were tightened in 1999, following a serious earthquake, and then tightened even more in 2018.
The scandal is that construction companies pay the regulations lip service whilst not following them, and then building any expected penalties into their selling prices.
That's why my ancestors moved across the sea and now I live near a super volcano that could kill north America.
Willow_Wisp
Level 8
Feb 9, 2023
4
Not surprising. I believe Totalitarian governments tend to be highly corrupt. This is why I am so vehemently opposed to the direction of the Republican Party in the US. If they will not censure a proved liar in Congress, they will do anything to get and remain in power, including jeopardize the lives of average citizens. Their many years of deregulation have already proved this point. I doubt there will be anyone held accountable in this disaster.
KateOahu
Level 8
Feb 9, 2023
6
I feel that it's Türkiye's problem and I will stay out of it. I've not been to Türkiye and I'm not going so Türkiye might not even be real. If not, then neither are any of the inhabitants crushed in shoddy homes. Such quakes are indicative of greater plate movement, and effects from those movements, which may also be indicative of greater climate warming. As ice melts it lightens the weight on the sea floor which may allow for greater continental drifts.
rainmanjr
Level 8
Feb 9, 2023
1
?? "as ice melts it lightens the weight on the sea floor" ??
Where is this ice?
On land = no sea floor.
On the sea = it is already floating and being supported by the sea floor.
" I've not been to Türkiye and I'm not going so Türkiye might not even be real."
So that's how it works, okay? Well, I've never been to Florida and Im not going so Florida doesn't exist. Moreover, if Florida doesn't exist then neither does Mar-a-Lago. Therefore Donald friggin Trump does not exist so my life has just gotten so much better by never having to hear his fucking voice ever again (but god knows what US news programmes will talk about now.)
Watch the next exciting episode where I dismiss gravity to float past your window on my perpetual motion machine (unless you live in Florida)
Seriously though is that the extent of your compassion and empathy? To call into question the actual existence of a NATO ally? No wonder Americans are seen by some as the assholes of the world. Give you your due, you are quite even-handed about this in that you do not confine your assholeness to foreign tragedies. Anytime some shit happens like 9/11, Jan 6th, a black guy killed by cops or a mass shooting (no specifics on the last 2 because chances are there might be a new one before I finish typing) There seems to be more idiots wanting to prove it didn't happen than those not wanting it to happen again. Fuck your 2nd amendment, I would not trust most of you with metal knives and forks, let alone a loaded firearm..
@273kelvin I vote a str8 Dem ticket. If consistency to my theory is a problem then so be it. You have not demonstrated that this is not an Illusion and a great many scientists/philosophers also think it is. I add the aspect that we are writing the story as we go, along with the other electrons in our frequency, so that's why passion/visualization often works to bring about what we crave. I gather you think it just happens to come about by chance? Silly man.
Because the building contractors don’t build them to code, and think they will get away with it!?!
I hope they hold them accountable….
Aaron70
Level 7
Feb 9, 2023
3
They are also the ones who supply the patronage to the ruling party.
"Construction Amnesties" in Turkey, where buildings are legalised in return for a fee, are a regular occurance. In fact there was a new one scheduled to be granted by Turkey's parliament when this earthquake struck.
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