The number of housing units covered by the compulsory earthquake insurance, introduced in Türkiye after the 1999 Marmara earthquake, has seen an increase since the devastating February earthquakes, as per the latest official data shared on Thursday.
As per statistics obtained by an Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent from the Natural Disaster Insurance Institution (DASK), the number of policies included in the system offered by the state increased by approximately 800,000 in the period since February.
Similarly, data revealed that in the stated period of around 80 days, the number of earthquake-insured residences that stood at around 10.96 million rose close to 11.75 million. Based on the latest statistics, the ratio of insured units among 20.03 million residences across Türkiye increased from 54% to 58.7%.
Based on DASK statistics across regions, the Marmara region takes the lead when it comes to insurance with 67%, followed by the Aegean region with 59.2%. Eastern Anatolia follows next with 56.8%, and the central Anatolian region with 54%.
The data points out that around 53.5% of houses in the Mediterranean, 52.8% in southeastern Anatolia and 48.8% located in the Black Sea region have obtained earthquake insurance.
Upon closely scrutinizing provincial data, it was found that the northwestern province of Bolu topped the list of the provinces with the highest rate of earthquake insurance with 91.9%. Other provinces situated in the same region, including Düzce, Yalova and Tekirdağ, appeared to follow Bolu, with western Muğla concluding the list of the top five provinces with relevantly high earthquake insurance coverage.
As per DASK reports, 90.8% of homes in Düzce, 87.7% in Yalova and 85.5% in Tekirdağ have mandatory insurance.
Furthermore, it was revealed that one in every three residences in the country's most populous city of Istanbul does not have the mentioned insurance. Lately, however, the acceleration of "urban transformation" plans has been witnessed owing to fears of a possible mega earthquake, following the pair of powerful earthquakes that jolted the southeast early in February, killing more than 50,000 people, flattening towns and cities and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
Accordingly, around 65.4% of the 4.15 million units in Istanbul, which equals approximately 2.7 million units, have compulsory earthquake insurance. In comparison, the percentage of units covered by earthquake insurance in the capital Ankara is 58.1%, while in Izmir, the third-largest city, 63% of houses have earthquake insurance.
The province that came out with the lowest insurance cover rate at 28.5% was southeastern Hakkari, followed by Gümüşhane with 34.1% and Bayburt with 36.2%.
Türkiye is among the world's most seismically active zones as it is situated on several active fault lines, with the most potentially devastating being the Northern Anatolian Fault (NAF), the meeting point of the Anatolian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Disaster preparedness, as well as the government's efforts for "urban transformation" or renewal of old, decrepit buildings, remain two vital options for protection against disasters.
