Infrastructure protectionTurkey plans two earthquake resistant cities to move residents from vulnerable Istanbul
To encourage residents to move away from seismically unsafe neighborhoods, Turkey’s government recently announced that it will begin building two earthquake-resistant developments near Istanbul; the city of more than twelve million people currently sits near a major fault-line that could potentially kill thousands in the event of a major earthquake; engineers and seismic experts warn that Istanbul’s poor construction, shoddy city planning, and overcrowding would result in many fatalities in the event of an earthquake; officials plan for the new urban centers to be home to roughly 1 million residents each; any move to the new settlements would be entirely voluntary
These Istanbul buildings are especially vulnerable // Source: purdue.edu
To encourage residents to move away from seismically unsafe neighborhoods, Turkey’s government recently announced that it will begin building two earthquake-resistant developments near Istanbul.
The city of more than twelve million people currently sits near a major fault-line that could potentially kill thousands in the event of a major earthquake. Furthermore, engineers and seismic experts warn that Istanbul’s poor construction, shoddy city planning, and overcrowding would result in many fatalities in the event of an earthquake.
In 1999, two large earthquakes rocked Northwestern Turkey killing an estimated 18,000 people.
According to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the first “new city” will be built on abandoned quarries and coal pits to the west of Istanbul.
The specific location of the second development has yet to be determined, but the Prime Minister has indicated that it will be on the city’s eastern side.
“We want to rescue our Istanbul from settlements that could perhaps lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the event of an earthquake,” Erdogan said.
Officials plan for the new urban centers to be home to roughly 1 million residents each and any move to the new settlements would be entirely voluntary.
Erdogan says that studies for the building projects will begin following Turkey’s elections on 12 June. Construction would begin the following year.
The new settlement project comes several weeks after Erdogan announced a plan to build a canal that links the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The proposed canal would divert tanker traffic away from the Bosporus strait, which is currently overcrowded and puts ships at high risk for accidents.
