Earthquake awareness survey as Izmir survives disaster

As Turkey continues to mend wounds from the devastating Izmir earthquake that struck the city on October 30th, the death toll from the disaster rose to 116 after a survivor died in hospital of her wounds.

More than a thousand people were affected by the earthquake on Friday afternoon, toppling several buildings and severely damaging scores of people across the country’s third largest city.

The nation’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced a revised death toll on Saturday.

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Department, 50-year-old Nurkan Hechielmas Towson was one of many rescued from under collapsed buildings, and has been receiving treatment in hospital since then.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Department said that Toson died on Friday of her wounds, adding that eight other survivors were still in hospital.

As Izmir entered the recovery process and authorities pledged to do more to prepare for future earthquakes, the disaster raised awareness and renewed concerns about when Istanbul would be hit by a major earthquake – experts say it’s not a question of whether or not, but when.

A recent survey revealed that although there is a great awareness among Turks about earthquakes, much remains to be done in terms of preparing.

The survey, conducted by NG Research online with 2054 respondents, showed that the majority of people across Turkey relied on experts who talk on TV about what to do during and after the earthquake.

According to the survey, 44% of respondents said they rely on TV experts, while 37% research what they do on their own. Only 13% participated in actual lessons on earthquake preparedness, and 6% said they had no idea what to do when a disaster strikes.

Officials appear on screen after a major event or disaster, an ancient Turkish broadcasting tradition, and as a country located on several active fault lines, the answers they provided were not surprising.

While it is important to know what to do in the event of a natural disaster, preparedness plays a more vital role when it comes to earthquakes due to its strong and unpredictable nature, which can leave the city in ruins at any moment.

Danger at home

When asked if their home had been checked for earthquake durability, the vast majority of respondents were not aware of the problem.

According to the survey, 42% said that they had not had earthquake resistance tests done in their homes, while 38% said they did not know. Only 18% said their homes were earthquake certified, while 2% responded that their buildings did not pass earthquake inspections.

After the 1999 Gölcük earthquake that killed more than 17,000, Turkey renewed its building codes and introduced stricter regulations to make new buildings earthquake-resistant.

Experts have repeatedly warned over the past two decades that making structures earthquake-proof is the most important thing, arguing that awareness or preparedness doesn’t matter much if a building collapses during a disaster.

While new buildings after the Golcuk earthquake were meticulously examined for earthquake regulations, Turkey still had millions of pre-1999 buildings and efforts to consolidate or rebuild them have been slow.

After the Izmir earthquake, inspectors found that many of the collapsed buildings were either built according to outdated regulations or were significantly weakened due to unauthorized modifications after completion.

No insurance

Another regulation introduced by the government in the wake of the Gölcük disaster is the introduction of compulsory earthquake insurance.

Issued by the Turkish Disaster Insurance Complex (DASK), the document pays money to rebuild a destroyed house, in lieu of market value, at affordable prices. Even in cities like Istanbul, where a 100-square-meter (1,080 sq ft) apartment can cost 1 million TL ($ 130,000), only homeowners are required to pay around 250 TL ($ 32) for insurance.

But despite it being mandatory and affordable, the survey showed that 50% of respondents said they do not have earthquake insurance.

Aside from buildings, the survey also revealed that a large number of people do not have emergency meeting points nearby.

According to the respondents, 52% had a meeting point near their homes, 30% did not, and 18% said they did not know.

Among the expanding urban sprawl of congested cities in Turkey, the disappearance of emergency meeting points was one of the experts’ most expressed concerns.

Experts say designated areas help survivors avoid debris that might fall from a nearby building. They also argue that safe zones help control panic after the first moments of a disaster by allowing people to gather and find their families and relatives.

The invitations were ignored

The lack of gathering areas and the resulting panic also caused a thorn in the lifeguards’ sides as well.

In the aftermath of major disasters, disaster and emergency management authorities and other officials have repeatedly urged people to avoid contacting relatives to have them checked because the massive amounts of phone calls overload mobile communication lines, causing the loss of cellular service and impeding rescue efforts.

The importance of opening lines of communication came to light again during the Izmir earthquake when many survivors used their cell phones to alert authorities to their situation.

However, the appeals appear to have fallen on deaf ears, with 50% of survey respondents saying they would contact their relatives after an earthquake.

Only 27% said they would use text messaging – the method the authorities suggested to keep lines open.

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