Whenever an earthquake happens anywhere in our country, we hear the phrase, "We need to learn how to live with the notion of earthquakes."
However, in this respect, it is not only the government that has a responsibility but also the public. Due to immigration that started in the 1950s, cities became densely populated in a short period of time, and as a result, major cities suffered illegal and unplanned urbanization.
Our country paid a hefty price on Aug. 17, 1999 - the Marmara Earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.4 - due to illegal urbanization. As someone who personally witnessed the damage, destruction and pain on the spot afterwards, I am well aware of what the reality of living in an earthquake zone means. This painful experience taught us that we have to focus on pre-disaster plans and precautions instead of postdisaster actions to achieve safe and sustainable urban development and to minimize risks.
Various natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, require countries such as Turkey to take immediate and thorough precautions. Today, majority of the Turkish population live in first or second-degree earthquake zones. It is not possible to calculate the damage that a disaster would cause because of illegal and irregular urbanization. To eliminate this risk, illegal housing that does not have any infrastructure should be transformed and become environment- friendly.
All the work to be undertaken will first focus on protecting lives and then our material assets. I hereby underline that protecting lives will always be our priority. Despite the 15 years that have passed since the Aug. 17 earthquake, work to relieve financial damage still continues, which means that any material loss can be recovered sooner or later, but loss of lives cannot.
Unhealthy buildings without strong infrastructures in earthquake zones should be determined and then demolished. In their place, we want to build housing that is contemporary and in line with the architectural history and traditions of their location and that are environment- friendly and improve the standard of living. Our public is also aware of this need, and therefore supports the urban transformation project.
Our ministry is striving to implement urban transformation projects in areas where many earthquake-prone and non-zoned buildings exist and transform them into healthy, habitable and sustainable living spaces. We have implemented risk management and conservation plans all around the country.
We are also determined to continue our efforts to implement measures for minimizing pre-disaster hazards and risks. Until now, throughout the whole of Turkey, we have detected 42,000 risky buildings. There are 155,000 houses and businesses in these buildings. Further, our ministry has offered TL 140 million in housing benefits for urban transformation work.
Our efforts to establish safe and sustainable urban transformation, predisaster preparations and work aimed at minimizing hazards and risks will be based on the painful experiences Turkey has suffered because of major earthquakes. We are determined to continue our efforts for urban transformation, and no one should doubt that we would continue this process until the end.
* Minister of Environment and Urban Planning
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