Unplanned Construction Caused Disaster

12 people were killed in a landslide and floods after torrential rains in the Gündoğan district of the city of Rize on the eastern Black Sea coast on 26 August. Houses slid down the hill and were buried by mud.

bianet talked to Mustafa Mahmutoğlu from the Rize Representation of the Architects Chamber. He pointed out that houses were built too close to river banks. "These incidents happen because the work of engineers is being done by craftsmen. The ground has not been surveyed and the steel structure leaves doubts. This is a common problem for building in the region", Mahmutoğlu explained.

He said that the houses were unhinged from the ground and slid down the hill.

"In recent times, house owners built their own roads to their buildings without getting a license before. That is the reason for the problems we are experiencing. By opening roads, the soil structure gets damaged. You actually need permission from the Special Provincial Administration but nobody asks for it. In the past there were channels for the water drain off. But when people left the villages, these channels were jammed with vegetation. This is another reason for the flood".

Mahmutoğlu also indicated that the fertilizer used for tea cultivation can change the structure of the soil. "If the fertilizer is sprinkled, it may not be fully absorbed by the soil. This changes the surface of the soil. If you choose the appropriate techniques, you can even build a skyscraper in a swamp. But if you do not take precautions even a one storey building will not endure".

In an interview with bianet, Seyfettin Yılmaz, Rize Disaster Coordination Manager, emphasized the weather conditions, saying that there was an extreme downpour of rain in a very short time.

"Although this is not confirmed yet, the landslide was caused by extreme rain falls on a very limited area in a very short time. Eleven people have died [this number rose to twelve later on] and there might still be more people under the mud. The work is continuing. Trees were disrooted and block the entrances of houses. People are not able to leave their houses. We have sent teams to cut the trees". (BT/VK)