Imprisoned Buğra Gökce warns after Balıkesir earthquake: 'We are not in a good state at all!' What has not been done since February 6?

Istanbul Planning Agency (IPA) President Buğra Gökce, who was arrested during operations targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), published a statement on his social media account following the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Balıkesir.

Citing the major earthquakes in Chile as an example and pointing to the measures taken by that country, Gökce listed the problems that have not been resolved in Turkey regarding earthquake preparedness.

Stating, "We talk about earthquakes when they happen, but we are not in a good state at all in terms of earthquake preparedness!" Gökce recalled the earthquake disasters of August 17 and February 6 and issued a call: "Turkey has the resources, the people, the knowledge, and the experience to increase the disaster resilience of our entire country, strengthen infrastructure, transform risky housing, and provide our people with high-quality, safe social housing. If the mentality in management changes, dying in an earthquake will cease to be fate!"

Deprem olunca depremi konuşuyoruz ama deprem hazırlığı açısından hiç iyi durumda değiliz!

?? 1960 yılında Şili’de 9,5 şiddetinde bir deprem yaşandı. Valdivia depreminde 1000 - 6000 arasında insan hayatını kaybetti.

?? Şili depremden gereken dersleri çıkardı. Japonya’daki… pic.twitter.com/BJk1c2OJ3f

— Doç. Dr. Buğra Gökce (@gokcebugra) August 11, 2025

WHAT HAS NOT BEEN DONE?

Buğra Gökce's X post is as follows:

"We talk about earthquakes when they happen, but we are not in a good state at all in terms of earthquake preparedness!

In 1960, a 9.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Chile. Between 1,000 and 6,000 people lost their lives in the Valdivia earthquake.

Chile learned the necessary lessons from the earthquake. It studied the legislation in Japan and prepared its own construction and earthquake regulations. It did not stop there; it implemented and audited this legislation. Today, even if a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurs, no one loses their life.

So, despite disasters like August 17 and February 6 occurring in Turkey, what has not been done?

"LEGISLATIVE CHANGES WERE NOT MADE"

The legislative changes we proposed to strengthen the earthquake resilience of our cities were not made. Steps were not taken to transform our structures in place, starting from the most risky ones, protecting the rights holders, and without disrupting the social fabric. Our proposals regarding structural reinforcement were not implemented.

The rapid building screening method was not popularized nationwide. The work of prioritizing and identifying risky buildings was not carried out.

Various types of social housing were not produced and offered to the public, and no steps were taken to improve the building stock with a mobilization spirit.

A serious disaster action plan was not developed for our cities with high earthquake risk. Earthquake experts were not consulted; in fact, experts who drew attention to earthquake risk were called 'so-called professors.'

Steps to strengthen infrastructure were not taken. No precautions were taken against the major problems that infrastructure in cities affected by earthquakes would create.

Not only has almost nothing been done in the field of risk reduction and preparedness, but we are also not in a better position than we were a year ago in terms of post-disaster management. Institutions, primarily AFAD, have not been renewed with the experience of February 6, nor have they been made more effective or stronger than they were on February 6.

Metropolitan mayors, district mayors, elected officials, urban planners, and bureaucrats, primarily Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu, who were struggling to make our cities safer against earthquakes, were arrested on unfair charges.

Final word:

Turkey has the resources, the people, the knowledge, and the experience to increase the disaster resilience of our entire country, strengthen infrastructure, transform risky housing, and provide our people with high-quality, safe social housing. If the mentality in management changes, dying in an earthquake will cease to be fate!"

News Source: 12punto