ELAZIG GUNISIGI NEWSPAPER – January 2012
MY EYES' LIGHT "ELAZIĞ"
(DO NOT COLLAPSE!)
The intense snowfall in recent days, while causing various difficulties, has also provided us with beautiful landscapes. However, aside from children, it seems that no one is truly satisfied with the situation. The main reason is the difficulty in transportation.
If we slow down the pace of our lives a bit and start using public transport, we could actually enjoy the weather, which we only experience a few weeks each year, without making it a form of suffering.
However, not everyone is as fortunate as I described. The number of people staying in tents with their families in this harsh winter is in the tens of thousands. Since the first day of the Van earthquake, over 100 tent fires have occurred, with more than 10 citizens losing their lives.
Van has practically spread all over Turkey. Hardly anyone who is not in immediate danger or necessity stayed in the proud city of Van. Who knows, despite the great efforts of our state, when will Van return to its former state?
Now, there are no more casualties, and we rarely see news about Van in the media, but active work is still continuing there.
While walking through the marketplace, a shopkeeper stops me: "Sir, so much money was collected for Van. With that money, several cities could be rebuilt. Why are our people still suffering?" This interest and sensitivity of our nation truly makes one happy.
Most of the funds collected after the earthquake are used for basic needs. Although the amount of money raised might seem large to us, the reality is that it is far too little to rebuild a city.
Let’s imagine a building in a site, with an 8-story structure and a residential area of about 400 square meters. Not counting unit prices, but rather market prices, this building, including its infrastructure, costs at least 1.5 million TL. I want to emphasize that this is the cost of rebuilding a heavily damaged building, excluding demolition.
Let’s briefly recall the last situation of structural damage in Van as reported by the media: • In central Van, Edremit, and Erciş districts, 28,532 buildings are either destroyed or heavily damaged. These buildings will be demolished. • 11,317 buildings are moderately damaged. These buildings need to be strengthened, or "treated," to be used again. • 43,407 buildings are slightly damaged. These buildings can be used with repair works. • The number of undamaged buildings is 28,453.
When you multiply the number of buildings to be rebuilt by the cost, you’ll have an idea of the approximate cost of rebuilding Van, if you can manage the zeros. The money we talk about as "several cities" is actually enough to cover only the mandatory expenses of one neighborhood.
Let’s think: how hard is it to repaint a house every few years when the walls get dirty? You struggle with the items in the house and say "there’s construction going on at home" to anyone who asks. Can we say "there's construction at home"? I don’t know, but in Van, there is construction.
Even the thought of it is distressing, sad, and overwhelming. What if there’s an earthquake in Elazig? What if my beloved Elazig collapses in an earthquake? What if people are forced to leave our beautiful lands, which we cannot stop talking about?
- Is this just a worry?
No, an earthquake in Elazig would not be a surprise. - Are we ready?
With this building stock, which has inadequate earthquake resistance?
Of course not. In Elazig, just like anywhere in the world, our hearts break if one of our citizens even gets a scratch. But shouldn’t we first make our own homeland safe?
The relevant authorities must come together as soon as possible and develop an earthquake strategy plan for Elazig. This plan should be implemented quickly to protect our city and people from potential earthquake hazards.
I hope the Elazig Earthquake Strategy Plan will be created and implemented as soon as possible...