The fate of her ruined cities south of Turkey earthquake last week was avoided Erzin city on its banks Mediterranean Seadespite being close to the epicenter. Although the mayor insisted on strict adherence to earthquake regulations as the reason for saving the city, engineers and seismologists believe that Erzin’s geographic location played a decisive role.

“The main reason for the minor damage is the composition of the soil,” says soil scientist Omer Emre, who has studied geological faults in the area for the past 40 years. Erzin is located 70 km from the epicenter, closer to it than Alexandretta and Antioch. However, two cities suffered massive damage, unlike Erzin.

The mayor, frowning, attributed the minor damage to compliance with building codes.

Many cities and villages in the region were built on sandy, loose soils made up of clay and silt from primeval rivers. “Clay soils make cities particularly vulnerable. The earth moves like a wave of the sea during an earthquake,” says Emre. Erzin, on the contrary, is located on a rocky hill with hard ground. The soil acts as a natural spring between the vibration and the foundation of the building, limiting their swaying. The same phenomenon was discovered by seismologists in 1999, when cities built on rocky soil withstood an earthquake better than those built on the banks of rivers or at their mouths.

Arrest of contractors

However, Turkish authorities have now shifted their focus to tracking down contractors who violated building codes in the collapsed buildings. Dozens of them have already been arrested. Contractors are accused of using unsuitable materials, violating earthquake regulations and illegal construction. Erzin Mayor Okes Elmasoglu, meanwhile, poses as a hero who prevented the actions of unscrupulous builders. However, many civil engineers downplay the role of the mayor, while acknowledging his good faith in issuing building permits. “This is Turkey’s problem. Any site owner can decide to build, whether they are a butcher, a farmer or a chef. I collected pieces of concrete that turned to dust on my fingers. The real killer was not so much the earthquake, but the poor quality of our buildings and the amnesty of arbitrariness, which the Erdogan government voted for a few years ago, ”says a civil engineer from Alexandretta, who asked not to be named for fear of a backlash. from his colleagues.