Natural hazard events, like the recent earthquakes in Turkey, do not have to turn into devastating disasters. Catastrophic collapse of buildings, killing and trapping occupants inside, is not inevitable. We know how to design and construct buildings so that they keep people safe, even under strong earthquake shaking. We know which areas of the world face high earthquake hazard—Turkey being one of them. The key to saving lives and protecting people is in taking action in advance, and in sustaining action long after everyone forgets about the last devastating disaster. A good seismic building code (which Turkey has) is not enough. Ensuring and sustaining proper implementation and enforcement is crucial, even as other pressing issues and demands arise over the years. It takes concerted effort and a long-term approach. With deep sadness, we are thinking of all those affected by this terrible disaster. It is especially heartbreaking knowing that most of these deaths and suffering were preventable. But with this pain, we hope that we can shine light and spark action in other places worldwide that face similar risks. For those areas, the time to act is now.
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Senior Geospatial Data Scientist / Independent Researcher
1yGeoHazards International - I couldn't agree more, and events like this are the most difficult to grasp because (like you say) it could have been avoided; this event was not a black swan, and the result of the event was a known/known - the buildings were built on a fault, and most were (very likely) constructed before the code change (in 2019). I would, even more, agree with your post if you had left "hazard" out of the first sentence because there are no natural hazards; natural events become hazards when (as rightfully said) there are no preventive measures taken to avoid disasters. Unfortunately, I believe, building codes are not enough. Disasters like these are not solved by building codes, sure they help, but they don't solve the inequality in society that builds up to this chain of events. Disasters like this will keep happening when the chances of surviving an event (like this earthquake) are unequal and when access to good housing is not available to everyone.