“Financial Support Required for Building Stocks to Become Earthquake Ready”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sepanta Naimi, Head of the Civil Engineering Department at Altınbaş University, spoke about the current state of building stock in Türkiye. He emphasized that while the regulations are sufficient, there are shortcomings in implementation and inspection, and the building stock urgently needs to be renewed.

On the anniversary of the August 17, 1999 earthquake, Türkiye's earthquake reality has once again come into focus. Assessing the condition of Türkiye’s building stock against earthquakes, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sepanta Naimi stated that Türkiye is not currently prepared for a major earthquake. "Our building stock is very old. Especially in Istanbul, many buildings constructed before 1999 were made using sea sand and incorrect rebar. Our infrastructure is also not ready," he said.

“Money spent after destruction should be spent beforehand.” 

Naimi pointed out that the renewal of building stock in Türkiye is far below what is needed, saying, “The main reason is the lack of sufficient financial support. Citizens should be supported with very low-interest loans, even grants. If a major earthquake occurs, the amount the government will lose will be much greater. Therefore, financial support should be provided for the renewal of buildings. This money should be spent now, citizens should be supported, and they should genuinely want to move forward, valuing their own lives. We need to have DASK insurance, but unfortunately, citizens do not pay attention to it. However, if an earthquake occurs, this is an important issue for their financial support and for repairing the damage to the building,” he said.

“Inspection is needed along with regulations.” 

Emphasizing the importance of inspection in construction, Naimi continued:
“Regulations have been revised over the years. After 1999, the Building Inspection Law was enacted. The regulations are quite sufficient, but whether we inspect them is also important. We have weaknesses in this regard. Our earthquake regulations were updated in 2007. Over the years, we identified our shortcomings, and a new regulation was issued in 2018. It came into effect on January 1, 2019. Our goal is not to prevent damage to the building but to prevent its collapse. Even if we follow the latest regulations, if we don’t inspect, the building will still collapse.”

“Everyone has a responsibility.” 

Naimi stated that everyone, from officials to citizens, has a responsibility for earthquake-resistant buildings. “This is an issue that can cause significant economic problems. We need to pay attention individually as well. We need to inspect our buildings. We are doing what we call urban transformation, but it is actually a ‘building transformation.’ Our biggest shortcoming is that we do not conduct risk analyses. By conducting risk analyses and carrying out genuine urban transformation, we can reduce these risks by untying the knot points of the cities,” he said.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sepanta Naimi drew attention to the fact that many old buildings in Istanbul, which poses the greatest risk, were legalized under the zoning amnesty. “Many buildings have been legalized, but many of them have not undergone building inspection. They are not sufficiently earthquake-resistant. New buildings can be inspected from the project phase onwards by municipalities and even the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. In the second phase, it would be beneficial for only the municipality and the ministry to conduct building inspections. Field engineers should be inspected, and continuity is important. Because in some construction sites, these engineers are only present in name, but they are not actually there. Insufficient inspection is carried out during operations,” he said.

“Students should not sign projects immediately after graduation.” 

Naimi also emphasized the importance of the education given to Civil Engineering students. “Students who graduate from engineering should work on construction sites and in design offices for at least one year. An engineer cannot learn engineering with a 20-40 day internship. It takes 1-2 years for a building to start and finish. It is very important for students to do an internship for at least one year so that they can be fully acquainted with everything. Professional competence certificates should also be required. After graduation, students should take these exams and then gain the right to sign projects. This way, they gain enough experience, and risks are reduced. When knowledge and perspective are combined with experience, a very successful engineer can emerge,” he concluded.