Original Article by: Isha Mehrotra February 10, 2023 | Photo: AP Images
Two powerful earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.5 magnitudes have flattened thousands of buildings across Turkey and Syria. Images and videos of those trapped inside the debris have filled people around the world with sorrow.
The tremblors have killed over 20,000 people and injured several others across the two neighbouring countries. At least 5,600 buildings across southeastern Turkey have tumbled in the earthquake that hit on Monday (6 February), Time magazine reported citing the country’s disaster agency.
The powerful quake has once again put the limelight on the safety standards of buildings in Turkey and the reasons so many structures collapsed like a ‘pack of cards’.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
“Doctor H Kit Miyamoto, a structural engineer at Miyamoto International, said that, in 1997, Turkey passed a code that required buildings to be built using ductile concrete – a material more flexible in earthquakes. However, Miyamoto believes that only one in 10 buildings in Turkey meet this standard, reported Time.“
“Those who have been negligent, at fault and responsible for the destruction following the earthquake will answer to justice,” Bekir Bozdag, the country’s minister of justice, said, reported AP.”
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