Naci Görür challenges Murat Kurum's fault survey report: 'Not suitable for settlement'

Prof. Dr. Naci Görür has challenged the results of the Kahramanmaraş fault survey report announced by Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum.

Stating that the region is not suitable for settlement, Görür emphasized that the area from Hatay to Adıyaman is a plate boundary and that this boundary will continue to produce earthquakes for millions of more years.

Naci Görür noted that the Dead Sea and East Anatolian faults ruptured during the February 6 earthquakes, but that there are still unruptured faults along the plate boundary. Expressing that any rupture of these faults would cause serious damage, Görür said the region requires special architecture and construction technology for settlement.

Prof. Dr. Naci Görür stated that in this region, where conventional buildings cannot be constructed, it is essential to use special technologies and expertise that will reduce earthquake risk. He pointed out the importance of such planning, stating that otherwise, today's suffering would be passed on to the future.

In the fault survey report announced by Minister Murat Kurum, it was stated that construction is possible in areas that do not have the potential to produce earthquakes, but that construction would not be possible in some segments due to earthquake risk.

Naci Görür made the following statement on his social media account:

"Our honorable minister Murat Kurum is talking about the Maraş region, the faults, and the examples examined in London with his team, and is speaking about suitability for settlement.

Forgive me, honorable minister, but in that zone, from Hatay to Adıyaman, no place is suitable for settlement.

The zone in question is a plate boundary. Plate boundaries produce earthquakes. It has been producing earthquakes for approximately 13.6 million years and will continue to do so for millions more. This zone is represented by the Dead Sea Fault and the East Anatolian Fault. These faults generally ruptured during the February 6 earthquakes.

But to the east of this plate boundary, on the Arabian Plate, there are plate boundary edge faults. These did not rupture. In this narrow zone, whichever fault ruptures will cause damage. It is best to continue fault analyses and pay attention to the houses on this boundary. The settlement areas here must be treated with care. This is a special place.

It requires special planning, special architecture, special construction technology, special building materials, and special technology to reduce the impact of earthquakes. You cannot build conventional buildings here. You must work with special people who know their business. Since you cannot change natural conditions, your only chance is unique construction, architecture, and material technologies. If we do not do this, we will be exporting the suffering we are experiencing today to future generations. With love"