Month: February 2023

Why the War in Syria Has Made the Country Much More Vulnerable to Earthquakes

Why the War in Syria Has Made the Country Much More Vulnerable to Earthquakes

02/28/23

“Why has the war in Syria made the country much more vulnerable to earthquakes?”

On February 6th, 2023 Northwestern Syria was shaken to its core by a colossal earthquake. While anywhere would be affected by such force, Syria’s Civil War has made it particularly vulnerable. The relentless bombings by Russia and the Assad Regime have destroyed scores of buildings and weakened many. Millions of Syrians have been displaced and forced to live in the Northwest so they won’t face Assad’s oppression. The regime and its backers have done everything in their power to make it difficult to bring aid to the area. This is Why the War in Syria Has Made the Country Much More Vulnerable to Earthquakes.

As of writing, victims of the 2023 Türkiye – Syria earthquake are continuing to face great difficulties in their daily life. To make a difference, please make a donation to organizations such as the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund. My friends are also connecting donations to small municipalities and vetted organizations through the venmo account @earthquake-relief. Anything you send will go a long way.

Wildfire Buffer Zones

Wildfire Buffer Zones

02/27/23

“How can we create plant-based defensible zones for wildfires?”

Wildfires spread quickly over dead plant materials. However, by creating zones of around human spaces of fire-resistant plants, we can create defenses to prevent such spread. These Wildfire Buffer Zones are an optimal way to increase resilience to wildfires and enhance community security.

Soft Story Building Retrofits

Soft Story Building Retrofits

02/26/23

“How can we retrofit soft-story buildings?”

Soft story buildings are incredibly vulnerable to earthquakes. Their weak ground floors make structural collapse easy during ground shaking. But by performing Soft Story Building Retrofits, we can strengthen the ground floor and decrease the damage potential. Governments should look into these techniques to create disaster resilience.

Image credit optimumseismic.com

Why Soft Story Building Caused So Much Damage During the Earthquake in Türkiye

Why Soft Story Building Caused So Much Damage During the Earthquake in Türkiye

02/25/23

“Why did soft story buildings cause so much damage during the earthquake in Türkiye?”

Soft story buildings are prone to collapse and “pancake” during earthquakes. Despite Türkiye being prone to earthquake disasters, a very large percentage of its structures are soft stories. During the 1999 Izmit earthquake, it was recorded that nearly 85 – 90 percent of all damaged/collapsed buildings were soft story. Despite lessons learned from previous earthquakes, the Erdogan regime continued to build these structures in its infrastructure boom. When the 2023 earthquake came, these buildings caused tens of thousands of people to be trapped under heavy concrete. This is Why Soft Story Building Caused So Much Damage During the Earthquake in Türkiye.

Image credit bbc.co.uk

Why Continuing Military Aid to Ukraine is Necessary for Planetary Survival

Why Continuing Military Aid to Ukraine is Necessary for Planetary Survival

02/24/23

“Why is continuing military aid to Ukraine necessary for planetary survival?”

One year has now passed since the Russian State launched its genocidal invasion of Ukraine. Since then, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost and over 12 million people have been displaced from their homes. However, the resilience of the Ukrainian people has not stopped. The country has taken back over half of its land stolen by Russia and has become a beacon to democracy ever.

Authoritarian leaders see Ukraine as a threat. If Russia is stopped, then invasions for territory will stay unpopular and absolute rule will be seen as inferior to fair and equal treatment of citizens. While many are beginning to have second thoughts about sending weapons, it’s important to step back and consider Why Continuing Military Aid to Ukraine is Necessary for Planetary Survival.

As a proud descendant of Jews from Odesa, I urge you to please do what you can to help Ukrainians under invasion right now here.

Soft Story Buildings

Soft Story Buildings

02/23/23

“What are soft story buildings?”

Multistory buildings come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. However, sometimes they’re built with a first floor with significantly less stiffness than the stories above it. These usually come in structures with parking spaces or open commercial spaces on the ground level. This lack of support often causes the building to “pancake” (falling on top of itself) during earthquakes. Engineers and Earthquake Planners have termed these buildings Soft Story Buildings and are some of the most dangerous urban earthquake hazards.

Image credit Wikimedia.org

How Better Building Code Enforcement Would Help Türkiye’s Economy

How Better Building Code Enforcement Would Help Türkiye’s Economy

02/22/23

“How would Türkiye’s economy improve if it had better building code enforcement?”

As of writing, the nation of Türkiye is reeling from the damages of all of the earthquakes it experienced in the past few weeks. Tens of thousands of buildings were built out of regulation in the past two decades and collapsed. Construction companies that promised safety turned out to be frauds. Local and international investors are not only more reticent on projects but everyday people are more scared to even live. However, if Türkiye were to have truly thorough building code enforcement, then these worries would disappear and economic activity would rebound. This is How Better Building Code Enforcement Would Help Türkiye’s Economy.

The Second Türkiye–Syria Earthquake

The Second Türkiye–Syria Earthquake

02/21/23

“What happened in the second 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake?”

Türkiye and Syria are already reeling from the last great earthquake. But on February 20th, a fresh magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the Türkiye–Syria border region near Antakya/Antioch. This has only added more issues to the already-strained region and shows why earthquakes come in multiples.

Why Earthquake Planners Should Consider Aftershocks

Why Earthquake Planners Should Consider Aftershocks

02/20/23

“Why should earthquake planners consider aftershocks?”

Earthquakes are made much more dangerous with aftershocks. Infrastructure that may have affected survived the first round of shaking will be decimated by the next. If earthquake planners take aftershocks into account, cities can avoid much of the pain associated with these events. Possible implementations include designing buildings to withstand earthquakes far beyond what is expected and incorporating redundancy in edifice design. This is Why Earthquake Planners Should Consider Aftershocks.