Within a month, there was a chain collapse of buildings, like dominoes. One building fell, and it jogged another building, another, and another; many buildings collapsed as a result. It was the scene of the Turkiye earthquake damage. 

The two solid earthquakes and more than 6,000 aftershocks near Turkiye and Syria on February 6, 2023, caused significant damage, with more than 50,000 deaths and more than 120,000 wounded, until March 13 (Korean Committee of UNICEF, 2023). Especially after the earthquake, buildings collapsed like dominoes, leaving many people isolated in the rubble, causing more casualties.  

The reason for this serious building collapse is that the buildings were not constructed with the appropriate earthquake-resistant design. The earthquake-resistant design is a structure that increases resistance to earthquakes by designing the internal structure of the building in the shape of an “L” or “T” and building walls with ferroconcrete.          

It’s not that Turkiye did not know about the earthquake-resistant design, but they did not properly comply with the existing architectural regulations and standards. In 2018, the violation of the regulation was severe to the point where 50% if the buildings in Turkiye were built without earthquake-resistant design applied. Eventually, when a strong earthquake shook Turkiye, the buildings could not withstand the seismic vibration and collapsed.          

Meanwhile, Erzin, a district in southern Turkiye, is gathering attention as a city that has zero death toll in the aftermath of the earthquake nor any buildings breaking down. The Mayor of Erzine says this was possible because he never tolerated illegal construction but built the structures according to regulations (BBC, 2023). Also, the buildings here were generally low and spaced apart from each other (BBC, 2023).      

Looking at the Turkiye earthquake scene, many people still mourn and realize the importance of rules and regulations once again. With the damage continuing, it is hoped that many injured in Turkiye will recover quickly. 

김성하 강남포스트 학생기자  webmaster@ignnews.kr

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