ELAZIG GUNISIGI NEWSPAPER –July 2012
NATURAL DISASTERS
Every country is exposed to a variety of natural disasters. For example, hurricanes and tornadoes that form along ocean coasts cause significant damage. Preventing these damages isn’t easy. Even if you build a sturdy building, what about the trees outside or parked vehicles?
Then, there are countries like ours. Countries that enact many laws after disasters, but over time, the disasters are forgotten, and the reality of natural disasters becomes normalized.
After the founding of the Republic, earthquakes, which made their presence known with heavy tolls almost every decade, led to the implementation of new building inspections across the country in 2011. With this system, I personally want to believe that new buildings are designed and constructed according to the relevant regulations. Because, we have no other option.
For the existing building stock, the 6306 Law was passed a few weeks ago, which we have discussed in our writings. We will all see what happens during its implementation. Our hope is the renewal of buildings under disaster risk as soon as possible.
While discussing these topics, we learned on TV that floods are a natural disaster. Why this complaint? It’s about our failure to plan ahead and our ongoing “quick fix” mentality. After a five-minute rain in Elazığ, our streets become rivers. This means that if the rain were heavier and lasted longer, we would have a flood, and we would be facing even more distress.
Is it a surprise when rain falls heavily and for a long time? Absolutely not. So, why aren’t these technical aspects considered when planning streets and neighborhoods? Why aren’t those who dare to claim that they are taking these matters into account held accountable?
What happened in the Black Sea region, especially in Samsun, has saddened everyone. I pray for the souls of the deceased. May God grant patience to their loved ones. But unfortunately, as long as we continue this lack of planning, these heartbreaking events will never end. The papers called “plans” or “programs” do nothing more than provide a short-term solution.
In Samsun, there was a flood, and 12 people lost their lives… In Samsun, two districts were flooded again: 1 dead… In Antalya, Manisa, Denizli, and Balıkesir, 5 people drowned in floodwaters and lost their lives… … and then an earthquake occurred, … people lost their lives…
We don’t want to hear these news anymore. The way to prevent these news from happening is by eliminating the problems. Every step taken without considering technical rules will have negative consequences.
Last year, I visited an elementary school, and pointed out that the widths of the corridors, the size of the classrooms, the ceiling height, and many other physical characteristics were insufficient. The administrators' response actually expressed our technical understanding quite well. They said the school was a donation, so there was a limited budget. Therefore, the project was shrunk to fit the budget, and that’s why the corridors are narrow, and the ceiling is low. Where is the ergonomics we teach in textbooks? Where is human psychology, educational psychology?
Technical rules are not useful when they are just letters, numbers, formulas, or graphs. They work when applied.