Why Türkiye’s Construction Spree Led to Such Devastating Earthquake Damage

02/10/23

“Why did Türkiye’s construction spree lead to such devastating earthquake damage?”

The massive February 6th earthquake in Türkiye has speared widespread devastation across the country. Thousands of buildings and lives have been lost in an almost infinitesimal amount of time. Builders that were thought to be up to code had their reputations shattered along with their edifices. But what exactly laid the foundation for this catastrophe to happen?

To answer, we have to turn the clocks back to 2003. A new political party under the helm of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was brought to power. Vowing to bring a new era to the Republic, Erdoğan decided to physically transform the country and economy with a construction spree. To hasten pace and strengthen his rule, Erdoğan granted infrastructure projects to allies and allowed them to cut safety corners. This led to scores of buildings being built without proper earthquake resilience. The mirage came tumbling down with the quake’s shaking. This is Why Türkiye’s Construction Spree Led to Such Devastating Earthquake Damage.

With the recent earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, please make a donation to ahbap, the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund.