Critical warning from Naci Görür for that city! 'It is sitting in the lap of the largest fault line and on the weakest ground possible'

A conference titled 'Earthquake-resistant cities for a safe future' was held at the Erciyes University Culture Site.

Participating as a speaker at the conference, Geologist and Earthquake Scientist Prof. Dr. Naci Görür noted that the earthquake issue is a matter of national survival for the state. Stating that if the earthquake problem is not solved, the country will lose its political and economic independence in addition to losing thousands of people, Prof. Dr. Görür said the following:

"Earthquakes during the Republican era: 1939, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1954, 1957, 1967, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2020, 2021. When you count the people who died, it approaches 200 thousand. This is not child's play; we are talking about 200 thousand people. We must build earthquake-resistant cities; where has our mind been until now? What are we waiting for, what more are we waiting to happen?

If we continue like this, we have no future. These earthquakes have been continuing for 14 million years and will continue for millions more. Therefore, since we cannot sacrifice thousands in every earthquake, we must cope with earthquakes. How will we cope? By building earthquake-resistant cities. Some cities have less earthquake risk, others have more, but the method is the same for all of them.

We must do these things, and the state must do them primarily. I am not saying a party or the government; the state must do it. The state we own must do it at our request. We must demand it from our own state: 'Make the cities I live in earthquake-resistant.' When we reach the consciousness of a nation, we will solve the earthquake issue.

Otherwise, we will lose thousands of our people and our political and economic independence in the near future. This earthquake is truly a matter of survival for the state. As long as we do not solve this, Turkey has no future," he expressed.

"THE ECEMİŞ FAULT, BY ITS NATURE, WILL PRODUCE AN EARTHQUAKE ABOVE 7"

Providing information about the fault lines in and around Kayseri, Prof. Dr. Görür noted that the faults the city is located on are active and alive. Görür said, "The faults in and around Kayseri are alive, active faults. Whether they are slow or fast, whether they produce many or few earthquakes, there is no need for anyone to act like a know-it-all; these faults will produce an earthquake one day.

Whether it produces a small or large earthquake, Kayseri will be affected by it. Kayseri is sitting on, right in the lap of, the Ecemiş Fault, which is one of the largest fault systems in Central Anatolia. It is not just near it or a little bit away from it; it is sitting right in its lap. Sooner or later, this fault will produce an earthquake. By its size, length, and characteristics, it will produce an earthquake above 7.

I am not giving a time; time is not important. My people are important; if it happens today, I will die; if it happens tomorrow, my children will die; if it happens the day after, my grandchild will die; if it happens the day after that, my lineage will die.

Do not get hung up on time; if someone tells you the time, will you be able to run away and save yourself? Kayseri is sitting on a fault system, period," he said.

"KAYSERI IS SITTING IN THE LAP OF THE FAULT AND ON THE WEAKEST GROUND POSSIBLE"

Drawing attention to the ground Kayseri is built on, Görür said; "Kayseri is sitting in the lap of the fault, and it is also sitting on the weakest ground possible. And without thinking about this, you are building 10-story, 15-story skyscrapers in a race. Kayseri is a region with faults, a region with weak ground; you must build an earthquake-resistant Kayseri, you must do it according to science and technology. There are earthquakes recorded in history in Kayseri. If an earthquake has occurred in a place, an earthquake of the same magnitude will occur again in the same place after a certain amount of time," he said.

Pointing out the importance of building earthquake-resistant cities, Geologist and Earthquake Scientist Prof. Dr. Naci Görür continued his speech as follows:

"There are liquefiable soils; do not build additional buildings on these. Do not develop the city in these directions; make them green spaces, make them parks. The faster and more a place shakes, the more destruction there will be. If I were to ask; which parts, which neighborhoods of Kayseri will experience the highest earthquake velocity? Do you know where the earthquake will be fastest? If the mayor says 'I don't know either,' then we are in dire straits. Think about the earthquake at the time of the earthquake; do not think about the earthquake by looking from today. Think about what will happen."

On the other hand, speaking at the conference, Erciyes University Rector Prof. Dr. Fatih Altun also stated that structures should not be rushed and should be built with care, saying the following:

"It is extremely important to reveal the characteristics of the structure we are in. I think we should not neglect the processes put forward by our municipalities, and apart from that, the processes put forward by the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in terms of our citizens managing these processes.

Because we are sure of this; unfortunately, an earthquake will happen again. If a design is made for 7.9-7.5 according to the capacity we load into the structures we build, we see it as an expected result that it shows behavior at an earthquake magnitude of over 8.0. Because we say this; structures should not reach total collapse, they must provide the necessary safety for people to evacuate the building even in a design earthquake.

When we put these one after another, we always talk about buildings, but I think the processes of designing and building engineering structures should not be rushed. Analyses must be made with special care and attention, and it is inevitable that this is ensured in its application."

News Source: İHA