İZMİR - Stating that Turkey is an earthquake country, JMO İzmir Branch President Koray Önalan said: "There have been warnings about the East Anatolian fault line for years. If precautions were taken, it would not have been so devastating."

 

Two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 that occurred in Maraş caused destruction in 10 different cities. While thousands of people are still under the rubble in the earthquake experienced during heavy winter conditions, the death toll in the earthquake is increasing day by day.

 

Koray Önalan, Head of the Izmir Branch of the Chamber of Geological Engineers (JMO), said: "The earthquake was predictable before and that the first earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 was not a surprise. Unfortunately, Turkey is experiencing the biggest disaster in the last hundred years. Nobody should say that we did not expect this earthquake. There were very serious studies and warnings made by scientists and professional chambers regarding the Eastern Anatolian fault line for years. These are available in many places. There are 485 active fault lines in Turkey. There have been earthquakes here for centuries, and there will be in the future."

 

'IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO DEVASTATING IF PRECAUTION HAD BEEN TAKEN'

 

Noting that the warnings regarding the damaging effect of the earthquake were reported to the central and local administrations by professional chambers and scientists, Önalan said: "such destruction would not be encountered if precautions were taken. It is a process. After 1999, many resources of our country should have been spent on the renewal of the building stock in our country. We haven't been able to provide this with a sufficient level since 1999. From 1999 to 2018, earthquake regulations were constantly renewed. Scientists have constantly said that there may be an earthquake in the Eastern Anatolia, North Anatolia, Marmara and Aegean fault lines at any time, that the building stock should be renewed and safe settlement areas should be created. We couldn't do these. If precaution had been taken, it would not have been so devastating.”