Continuing the trainings he organized in the cities where the February 6 earthquake occurred, Earthquake Training TIR "Explorer" and Japanese Earthquake Expert Yoshinori Moriwaki recently raised awareness about earthquakes and building reinforcement in Diyarbakır and Malatya in the Eastern Anatolia region. In the training in which he raised public awareness about the worst-case scenario, Moriwaki emphasized that "It is not the earthquake that kills people, but the building."
There was great interest in the earthquake trainings in Diyarbakır and Malatya, which included Japanese earthquake expert, master architect and civil engineer Yoshinori Moriwaki.
Malatya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Selahattin Gürkan also attended the information meeting in Malatya, where many sector professionals and stakeholders attended.
Speaking before the training and expressing his views on the earthquake, Gürkan said that they saw with the earthquakes that it was not the earthquake, but the earthquake-resistant structures that killed people.
MORIWAKİ: “DAF STARTED TO BREAK”
Yoshinori Moriwaki, who stated that 81 of 52 provinces in Turkey were in the first degree earthquake zone during the earthquake training, said, “There was an earthquake in Erzincan in 1939, and then there was an earthquake in Tokat in 1941. Earthquakes occurred like dominoes from east to west. There was an earthquake in Gölcük in 1999. The Eastern Anatolian Fault has not been broken for a long time. Three years ago, there was a small earthquake in Silivri. After that, the Elazığ earthquake occurred. The Eastern Anatolian Fault, which has not been broken for a long time, has started to break. "Unfortunately, we saw the February 6 earthquake," he said.
“IT IS NOT THE EARTHQUAKE, IT IS THE BUILDING THAT KILLS PEOPLE”
Making an earthquake comparison between Turkey and Japan, Yoshinori Moriwaki said: “5,5 magnitude, that is, moderate earthquakes, occur most in China. Japan is in the 4th place and Türkiye is in the 6th place. In terms of square meters, Japan is 6th and Türkiye is 17th. When we look at the biggest earthquakes in history; In Turkey, the earthquake in Erzincan in 1939 had a magnitude of 7,9, while in Japan, the Thoku earthquake in 2011 had a magnitude of 9. Considering the loss of life in the earthquake, Turkey suddenly ranks 3rd. Buildings kill people, not earthquakes. There are earthquakes in Turkey like in Japan, but there is a lot of loss of life in Turkey. How can we fix this? "Architect and engineer friends, we have to fix this, we can fix it."
Moriwaki noted that the Building Inspection System started in Turkey in 2001 and said, “But what was the problem? If there is a building stock of 21 million in Turkey, 50 percent of it does not comply with the regulations. There is a Building Control System, but if it is unauthorized or if a license is not obtained from the municipality, it does not enter the system. There is a problem here. There is construction peace in Turkey. There is a war in Ukraine and Gaza, peace is needed in these wars, but when it comes to peace for reconstruction, this is another matter. A journalist in Turkey asked me, 'What do you think about the zoning peace?' When you asked, I didn't understand at first, but now I understand. There is no such thing as 'unlicensed' or 'uninhabited' in Japan. If he is going to make renovations, he gets permission from the municipality. "It has happened so far, but we must try not to have this happen from now on," he said.
“THE GROUND IS SOFT IN THE MALATYA PLAIN; DANGEROUS!"
Japanese Scientist Yoshinori Moriwaki announced the most rotten areas of Malatya. Moriwaki emphasized that housing construction should not be done in the regions he specified; I can say that in Malatya, as in Maraş and Hatay, the soft ground on the plain side is dangerous for construction. "It would be good to start urban transformation in areas with good ground and on slopes with hard ground," he said.
WHAT IS THE WORST SCENARIO?
Yoshinori Morivaki also answered the participants' questions about the "worst scenario" and "tsunami" possibility at the earthquake information meeting in Malatya: "After Hatay, there is a fault line extending to Syria and Cyprus. If this fault under the sea breaks, there may be a risk of tsunami; In general, it can be a one-meter wave. The worst-case scenario is both an earthquake and a slide. In this case, the worst-case scenario is a 3-meter wave. It is important for buildings to be at least 3 meters above sea level. However, tsunamis are not often seen in Turkey. "The wave length in the Izmir earthquake was one meter."
Pointing out the importance of earthquake training, Moriwaki said, “Earthquake training and drills are carried out in Turkey, but how many times a year? I heard one or two at most. For example, when a child in primary school is given education once a year, he or she does not remember what was done last year. In Japan, education is provided twice a month, once a month at school and once a month in the neighborhood. Children are now getting used to what to do with the education they receive. In addition, education is provided from a young age. In Turkey, children should not hear or see it. "Of course, we do not show the bad image of the earthquake, but we tell about the earthquake," he said.