Increase in earthquake awareness in Turkey in the last decade

Abstract

The impact of the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake on the people, buildings and industry was so large that it soon became a milestone in the disaster mitigation program in Turkey. Since then, a number of earthquake awareness programs and risk reduction methodologies have been implemented both in macro and micro scales. Structural strengthening/retrofitting techniques for standard buildings, innovative risk mitigation methods, the urban transformation project, early warning systems, rapid response projects and compulsory earthquake insurance are examples of the mitigation programs implemented after the earthquake. In spite of these achievements, risk reduction applications in practice in industry are still limited. This is mainly due to the fact that industrial facilities consist of complex systems and components in which conventional methods may not be applied. Indirect losses such as cascading events, fires, business interruption and market loss may become more important than direct losses. This paper summarizes the damages observed at industry and critical infrastructures in Turkey after the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. The risk reduction measures taken in the transportation lifelines, residential buildings, and hospitals, completed and on-going remedial actions in the last decade are presented. High risks involved in the industry and the need for implementing proper risk mitigation measures are also emphasized.