Frightening reality in Istanbul: 5 million people under threat

Following the collapse of a 7-story building in Bahçelievler, which had 3 illegal floors, the situation of unsafe buildings in Istanbul has come to the agenda. 

Speaking to Cumhuriyet, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) KİPTAŞ General Manager Ali Kurt noted that a disaster was narrowly averted in the collapsed building and pointed out that citizens are feeling helpless.

35,000 BUILDINGS SCANNED OUT OF 130,000 APPLICATIONS

Emphasizing that a rapid scanning system was implemented for the identification and resolution of risky buildings during the first term after the İBB passed to the CHP, Kurt said, "Despite 130,000 applications, we were only able to scan 35,000 buildings. This is because citizens did not let us into their homes; they are afraid due to misinformation."

"5 MILLION PEOPLE UNDER RISK"

Underlining that there are 1,556 buildings in Istanbul that are at risk of collapsing where they stand even without an earthquake, Kurt said the following:

"In a possible Marmara earthquake, 200,000 buildings will become unusable. 1.2 million independent units and 4.8 million people are under serious risk. Buildings have started to collapse where they stand. Our municipality has passed a resolution to provide additional support to the rental assistance provided by the ministry for the transformation of these buildings. KİPTAŞ is also running the 'Istanbul is Renewing' (İstanbul Yenileniyor) project to renovate structures at cost. However, we are not achieving the desired performance."

"PRE-99 BUILDINGS MUST BE RENEWED"

Bahçelievler Mayor Hakan Bahadır, in his statement regarding the building on Yadigar Street that partially sank into the ground, said, "Three illegal floors were added in 1994. We have evacuated a total of four apartment buildings. We will host our neighbors in hotels. It is rotten because it was built before the 1999 earthquake regulations. All buildings constructed before the '99 earthquake are rotten. The construction of the building was correct for that time, but now C25 and C30 concrete are being used. Please renew all buildings constructed before the '99 regulations," he said.

News Source: 12punto