ELAZIG GUNISIGI NEWSPAPER – May 2011
1 MAYIS FOR BİNGÖL!
1 Mayıs, the silence of the night,
1 Mayıs, a fireball, an apocalypse,
1 Mayıs, never to wake again,
1 Mayıs, burying mother, father, child,
1 Mayıs, not seeing your loved ones the next day,
1 Mayıs, a massive shock,
1 Mayıs, the end of 170 lives,
1 Mayıs, the tears of the survivors,
1 Mayıs, lives sheltered in tents,
1 Mayıs, hands reaching out to Kızılay’s soup,
1 Mayıs, the price of being late,
1 Mayıs, the true image of buildings,
1 Mayıs, Çeltiksuyu Primary School, children who became graves,
1 Mayıs, a day to learn lessons,
1 Mayıs, a day to shape projects (!),
1 Mayıs 2003, yesterday,
1 Mayıs 2011, today.
It has been 8 years since the Bingöl Earthquake. We should not forget those days in order to learn lessons. Once again, our condolences to Bingöl and Bingölites, and to all of our country. May we never face such greater disasters again.
When you look at the Turkey Earthquake Zones Map, you will see that the entire Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, and Black Sea coasts are marked in red. This color almost seems to send the message that these places could be bathed in blood at any moment. Red indicates the first-degree earthquake zones, the areas with the highest earthquake risk. At this point, it is worth repeating the classic saying: “Earthquakes do not kill, buildings do.”
How could our sacred home, our nest, according to our customs, traditions, religion, and laws, want to kill us? How could this sacred entity become a murderer? If it is not the building, then who is? The landowner, the contractor, the workers, the foremen and masters, the engineers, the architects, the municipality, the governorship, the ministry, the prime minister, the president, the customer who looks at the decoration and not the stability of the house, the citizens who do not question urban transformation and building inspections? If there were a trial, the judge's job would be difficult. Finding a conclusion would be quite hard.
The current situation is quite easy to explain: zoning is irregular and unhealthy, the majority of existing buildings have insufficient earthquake resistance, building inspections are generally amateurish, and since no earthquake has occurred for a while, the danger has been forgotten. Occasional earthquake drills have also ceased, etc.
After the May 2003 Bingöl Earthquake, dozens of buildings in Elazığ Center sustained heavy damage. Even though the epicenter was almost 100 km away, the fact that buildings were heavily damaged did not seem surprising to those who knew the state of the existing building stock. These records can also be checked by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing.
The earthquakes in Bingöl in 1971 and 2003 can happen anytime within our region and the borders of our province. Just as natural as the wind blowing, the rain falling, or the sun rising, earthquakes are also natural, and to prevent them from becoming our disaster, we need buildings with sufficient earthquake resistance.
Earthquake and construction issues should be analyzed under two main headings: First, the condition of existing buildings with insufficient earthquake resistance, and second, ensuring that newly constructed buildings are earthquake-resistant. If we look at these two situations solely from a construction perspective, a great mistake will be made. This is not just a construction issue; it is also a social and legal project. It concerns not just a province or a region, but the entire country. Because after a destructive earthquake, the expenditures made for a specific area will affect the entire nation’s future.
After an earthquake, when lives are lost and homes are destroyed, preventive measures will not bring comfort. Everyone knows that regret after the fact is useless, so why go through it again? We always emphasize this. The election atmosphere could offer a solution to this crucial issue of our country. Both party leaders and parliamentary candidates should be asked to make commitments for urban transformation and rural return projects. Citizens should pressure politicians to create these projects. Then, we will have used our true democratic power.
Let us not forget: Societies with a high level of civilization, those with eyes set on the distant future, with goals and great projects, are the ones whose homes are the safest places during an earthquake.