Turkey is currently shaken by two major earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş. These earthquakes have affected Kahramanmaraş, which is one of the country’s economically and demographically important cities, and the surrounding areas. Additionally, Istanbul and İzmir, which are two of the largest cities in Turkey, are also located in areas that pose the greatest risk of earthquakes. As a result, being prepared for earthquakes and ensuring earthquake safety are among the current issues in the country.

As a country with a large portion located in an earthquake zone, Turkey plays a critical role in steel structure systems. However, the use of this system in Turkey is at a very low level. While the use of this system in countries like Europe and America reaches as high as 40%, in Turkey, this rate is around 1%.

Turkish exporters emphasize the need to fight earthquakes as a natural disaster together and that evaluating scientific data will play an important role in this struggle. At the same time, it is stressed that necessary measures must be taken before an earthquake occurs. As a result, Turkey can increase its safety against earthquakes by using the steel structure system more actively.

The Turkish steel industry is capable of producing all kinds of materials.

The Coordinator President of Ege Exporters’ Unions, Jak Eskinazi, began his speech by saying, “We mourn the citizens we lost in the earthquake that occurred on February 6th.” Eskinazi emphasized that if the same earthquake had occurred in Istanbul, the damage would have been greater and Turkey would have gone back 50 years.

Construction sector is one of the locomotive industries in our country and in countries such as Germany, the US and Japan, which are leading the way in Industry 4.0 in the world, industry is described as a locomotive sector. According to a survey conducted by Ipsos in 2022, Eskinazi stated that Turkey is among the countries where people have the highest expectations for natural disasters at 77 percent, but that the society and the state are not prepared for these expectations.

Eskinazi emphasized that the rate in Japan is 85 percent and that Japan is prepared in this regard. Finally, Eskinazi said that the Turkish steel industry is highly developed in terms of know-how and that it is in a position to produce all types of materials.

A new roadmap must be put forward promptly in the construction sector.

Jak Eskinazi, the Coordinator Chairman of Eskişehir Exporters’ Associations, emphasized that Turkey’s frequent exposure to large earthquakes is putting lives at risk. Eskinazi said, “As a country, we are shaken by a major earthquake every 30 years, and every time the number of casualties exceeds tens of thousands. Because of the lack of preparedness of our country, the losses are always great. The wrongs in the construction sector also contribute to the increase in losses. Therefore, the state must take the necessary measures for the safety of the community and the perception in the construction sector must change. In order to achieve this, urban planning should be prepared with the cooperation of scientists, and this should be one of the main goals of our country.”

The widespread use of steel construction model is necessary.

The Deputy Chairman of the Aegean Exporters’ Associations Coordination, Ege Demir, and the Chairman of the Exporters’ Association of Non-Ferrous Metals, Yalçin Ertan, stated that they had to accept with regret that the saying “It’s not the earthquake that kills, it’s the building’s structure” is true. Now, working to build structures that are earthquake-resistant, rather than finding solutions after the earthquake, should take priority. To ensure safety, the widespread use of the steel building system, which is a non-fracturable, flexible, durable and lightweight model, is required. Steel construction buildings have many advantages over reinforced concrete structures in earthquake-prone areas. Unfortunately, the steel building system is not yet well-known in Turkey. While the use of the steel system in Europe and America is around 40%, it is around 1% in Turkey.

Turkey should shift towards steel construction in new buildings, urban renewal projects, and temporary housing constructions

Yalçın Ertan emphasized that steel construction buildings can be manufactured and assembled in a much shorter period of time.

The importance of short construction time is to get the building to be able to be occupied/used as soon as possible. Fast and sustainable steel construction buildings are economically more advantageous than other buildings. Steel construction buildings are lighter than reinforced concrete buildings. The lightness of the building and the increased flexibility of steel structures reduce the effect of earthquakes by reducing the load on the ground. It is considered to be beneficial to turn to steel construction in all new buildings, urban renewal projects, and temporary housing projects that will be built in our country’s earthquake belt, taking into account earthquake conditions. The building feature without the risk of corrosion and deterioration provides significant advantages over reinforced concrete models with a long service life. In the next period, we plan to work to explain the steel building system to more stakeholders.