Speaking on the fourth day of the Second Century Economics Congress, geologist Prof. Dr. Naci Görür, referring to the earthquake preparedness and resilience studies of İzmir, said, “İzmir is on the right track in microzonation studies. This is no joke. This job is not that difficult. We have made so many mistakes in our cities that we are afraid to face our own mistakes. We have to start from somewhere,” he said.

Speaking on the fourth day of the Second Century Economics Congress organized by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Istanbul Technical University faculty member geologist Prof. Dr. Naci Görür made a presentation titled “Earthquake Reality”. Starting his presentation by saying that he made a decision, Prof. Dr. Naci Görür said, “As a geoscientist, I will no longer talk about where the earthquake will be, which fault has broken or will it break, unless it is necessary. We have discussed them so far, this is the point we have reached. We apparently buried 50,000, possibly more, people in the ground overnight. The earthquake was known. When they asked us where in Turkey do you expect an earthquake after the Marmara Earthquake, we would say Maraş. We said a lot that Maraş earthquake was coming after 1999. I said until February 3, disaster happened on February 6th. We wrote a lot, we drew a lot, but no one heard our voices. If it had, it wouldn’t be today’s scene. We will forget about them in a few months,” he said.

Earthquake is such a fact that you cannot destroy it
Emphasizing how Izmir will be made resilient, Prof. Dr. Naci Görür said, “As people of İzmir, do not ask where or when the earthquake will occur. It doesn’t suit us. What will happen if the earthquake happens in the next 40-50 years? Will the people who die then not be our descendants? What are we after then? I understand fear, it is a human emotion, but it does not suit us as a country or as a nation. Earthquake is real. It is the most important problem of the country. Say what you say about law, justice, corruption, but put the earthquake first. It is a fact that you cannot destroy. An earthquake can happen anywhere in Turkey at any time. Since earthquakes will occur and we cannot prevent them, we have to create earthquake resistant cities. If we build resilient cities, we will not bury 50-60 thousand people in case of an earthquake. “We are not afraid of earthquakes,” he said.

Let’s change together
Stating that earthquake resistant cities are possible, Prof. Dr. Naci Görür said, “There are many countries that create earthquake-resistant cities. In countries like ours, lives are not lost in earthquakes of 5 and 6 magnitudes. Those countries are generally modern countries and people who believe in science and have turned into an information society. As a nation, we have to walk in the direction of creating earthquake resistant cities. We have everything to do. How can we build earthquake resistant cities? There are 6 components and these components make up İzmir, the city. Management style and characteristic of the first. There is a mayor and governor here in Izmir. This is an earthquake city. Those who manage an earthquake city should know what an earthquake is, and they should know the hazard analysis of the city they manage. Before an earthquake happens, you should know how to reduce the damage. It should be able to coordinate the organizations related to the earthquake. When there is an earthquake, he should be able to run the city like an orchestra.”
Speaking about the residents of earthquake cities, Prof. Dr. Naci Görür said, “If the people of a city are not earthquake conscious, knowledgeable, knowledgeable and cultured, you can never prepare that city for an earthquake. People who do not have an earthquake culture do all kinds of work secretly. When he builds a house, he forbids it, makes it illegal. Does not listen to education. He does not plan earthquakes for his family. Sometimes he does things that do not comply with the law and ethics for profit. We can’t do that with a people who don’t follow the rules. Are we like this? Yes. Are the people of Izmir any different? No. Let’s change together?” said.

It’s not a prophecy
Stating that the infrastructure, bridge, drinking water and sewerage network should also be earthquake resistant, Prof. Dr. Naci Görür said, “People cannot find water to drink during the Maraş earthquake. There is no infrastructure. The infrastructure did not withstand the earthquake with the wrong policies. This is not prophecy. There will also be epidemics in the region. Before the earthquake comes, it is necessary to renew the infrastructure. When we say where the airport will be built, where the road will be built, the most beautiful place that shows what should not be is the last earthquake we experienced,” he said.

Is there a need for a state that does not consider the safety of people’s lives?
Stating that it is not enough to renew the building stock only to make a city earthquake resistant, Prof. Dr. Naci Görür said, “We have made urban transformations in accordance with where there is more money. It is the building stock that causes the most deaths of people. It is necessary to strengthen the building stock, renew it, and evacuate people if necessary. I cried loudly before the earthquakes. We will build 600 thousand houses and sell them with cheap loans. People queued up. It is not right for the government to build and sell new houses when there is a risk of collapse of 90,000 buildings in Istanbul. First, renew the structure of the people awaiting death in Istanbul. Even when people are not safe, neither the government nor the people care. Nobody said that we do not want to die in an earthquake, earthquake is not our destiny. How can we stay so far away from this issue? What is more important than that? Isn’t that the state’s most important issue? Is there a need for a state that does not care about the life safety of humanity? We own this state and the land. We also have the power. Earthquake is a non-partisan issue. I say this as a scientist. I have never had a political side, please do not vote for any party, no matter what faith you have, if it does not have a serious plan and will for the earthquake.”

This is no joke
Talking about Izmir’s earthquake resistance studies, Prof. Dr. Naci Görür said, “Here, İzmir is on the right track. Many universities take part in these studies under the coordination of METU. It is known how to manage the city, use of space and planning with earthquake microzonation studies. Thanks to these works, the mayor will be able to say, ‘There are no buildings here. Reconstruction, resettlement is nothing. People will follow suit. If it does not comply, we will impose heavy penalties. This is no joke. This job is not that difficult. We have made so many mistakes in our cities that we are afraid to face our own mistakes. We have to start this from somewhere. If the Republic of Turkey wants to continue its existence forever, it has to establish a Ministry of Disaster. The government needs to plan for the coming years. The Republic of Turkey will give more budget to this ministry than many other ministries. With this budget, it will allocate national and international resources to the nation, hand in hand with local governments. We will make the whole of Turkey earthquake resistant in 20 years,” he said.

Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency