İstanbulites 'hesitate' getting their buildings tested for earthquake safety

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The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) struggles to test buildings in the city for earthquake resistance because of people's fear of losing their homes, Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has said.

The expected earthquake is the most important issue of the metropolis of 16 million people, he told reporters yesterday (December 28) at a groundbreaking ceremony for a housing estate project jointly carried out by the municipalities of İstanbul and İzmit.

"Our intention is to fully x-ray the building stock of İstanbul and face it by the end of 2023," he said. "But citizens don't want to get their homes x-rayed."

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The mayor said people are concerned that their buildings would be demolished in case they turn out to be not safe for earthquakes and admitted they are not totally wrong.

However, he added, they are responsible for those citizens as well and have to determine the earthquake resistance of all buildings in İstanbul.

After that, they plan to renew the city's buildings, said İmamoğlu.

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According to an estimate by the municipality and Boğaziçi University's Kandilli Observatory published in late June, at least 14,000 people would be killed and more than 8,750 would be heavily injured in case of an earthquake higher than magnitude 7.0 in the city.

The last earthquake of that scale occurred in İstanbul in 1766 and experts think that another one is imminent.

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the city in September 2019 left more than 460 buildings, including schools and hospitals, damaged. (DŞ/VK)