Anger has been raised by the sight of recently built apartments toppling in Turkey's earthquakes. The BBC looked at three recently demolished buildings to see what lessons they may teach us about building safety. In southern Turkey and northern Syria, two powerful earthquakes with magnitudes 7.8 and 7.5 levelled structures of various types and killed thousands of people.
But there are pressing concerns about construction safety requirements as a result of the fact that even some of the newest residential buildings have collapsed to dust.
Buildings should be able to withstand earthquakes of this size thanks to modern construction practices. And rules adopted in the wake of earlier tragedies in the nation were meant to guarantee the inclusion of these safeguards.
People can be seen yelling and scrambling for cover in social media footage of the first of three fresh building collapses that the BBC has identified.
An apartment building in Malatya can be seen with its lower half collapsing and the remaining portion standing at an angle on top of the debris.
The flats were just built last year, and screenshots of an advertisement claiming the building was "finished in conformity with the newest earthquake rules" have been posted on social media.
The advertisement proclaimed that all components and workmanship were "first-class quality." Although the original advertisement is no longer online, screenshots are.
The recent construction means it should have been built to the latest standards, updated in 2018, which require structures in earthquake-prone regions to use high-steel-bar-reinforced high-quality concrete. To properly absorb the impact of earthquakes, columns and beams must be dispersed.
The BBC hasn't been able to confirm the quality of the building materials used in this block, though.
Another freshly constructed apartment building in the harbour city of Iskenderun was substantially demolished, according to photographs. Only a little portion of the 16-story skyscraper was left standing after the side and back completely fell.
The flats were just built last year, and screenshots of an advertisement claiming the building was "finished in conformity with the newest earthquake rules" have been posted on social media.
The advertisement proclaimed that all components and workmanship were of "first-class quality." Although the original advertisement is no longer online, screenshots and videos of it that have been making the rounds on social media correspond to previous advertisements by the same corporation.
Since it was recently constructed, it should have been constructed in accordance with the most recent standards, which were amended in 2018 and call for buildings in earthquake-prone areas to employ high-quality concrete reinforced with steel bars. To properly absorb the impact of earthquakes, columns and beams must be dispersed.
The BBC hasn't been able to confirm the quality of the building materials used in this block, though.
Photos show that a newly built apartment complex in the port city of Iskenderun has been considerably destroyed. The side and back of the 16-story building totally fell, leaving only a
He continues by saying that because of the magnitude of the earthquake, almost any of the city's buildings were spared undamaged. He claimed that under the pretence of reporting, "we sadly observe how some media organizations are manipulating perspective and selecting scapegoats."
Even though the quakes were strong, according to experts, structures that were built properly should have been able to stand.
According to Professor David Alexander, an expert in emergency planning and management at University College London, "this earthquake's maximum intensity was intense but not necessarily enough to bring well-constructed buildings down."
"We can conclude that out of the thousands of buildings that collapsed, practically all of them don't stand up to any realistically expected earthquake construction code," says the report. "In most places, the level of shaking was less than the maximum."
non-application of building codes
Following earlier catastrophes, such as the 1999 earthquake in the region of Izmit, Turkey, which claimed 17,000 lives, construction restrictions have been strengthened..
The legislation, however, even the most recent regulations enacted in 2018, have not been rigorously applied.
Prof. Alexander claims that while there is very little retrofitting of existing structures, there needs to be more enforcement of building codes for new construction.
People in the southern city of Adana told the BBC's Middle East Correspondent Tom Bateman that a fallen building there had been damaged 25 years earlier in another earthquake but had not received any thorough repair..
Countries like Japan, where millions of people reside in densely populated high-rise structures despite the nation's history of powerful earthquakes, serve as examples of how construction codes can contribute to disaster preparedness.
Construction safety standards range from simple strengthening to installing motion dampers throughout the building to placing the entire construction on top of a massive shock absorber to isolate it from ground movement, depending on the use of a building and its proximity to areas most at risk of earthquakes.
Responding to the BBC, Mr Altas said: "Among the hundreds of buildings I have built in Hatay [the southern province which has Antakya as its capital]. Unfortunately and sadly two blocks... have collapsed."
He adds that the earthquake was of such a vast scale that almost no buildings in the city survived intact. "We painfully witness how some media organisations are changing perception and picking scapegoats under the guise of reporting," he said.
Although the quakes were powerful, experts say properly constructed buildings should have been able to stay standing.
"The maximum intensity for this earthquake was violent but not necessarily enough to bring well-constructed buildings down," says Prof David Alexander, an expert in emergency planning and management at University College London.
"In most places, the level of shaking was less than the maximum, so we can conclude out of the thousands of buildings that collapsed, almost all of them don't stand up to any reasonably expected earthquake construction code."
Failure to enforce building regulations
Construction regulations have been tightened following previous disasters, including a 1999 earthquake around the city of Izmit, in the northwest of the country, in which 17,000 people died.
But the laws, including the latest standards set in 2018, have been poorly enforced.
"In part, the problem is that there's very little retrofitting of existing buildings, but there's also very little enforcement of building standards on new builds," says Prof Alexander.
The BBC's Middle East Correspondent, Tom Bateman, spoke to people in the southern city of Adana who said one collapsed building there was damaged 25 years ago in another quake but was left without any proper retrofitting.
Countries such as Japan, where millions of people live in densely populated high-rise buildings despite the country's history of severe earthquakes, show how building regulations can help to keep people safe in disasters.
Construction safety requirements vary depending on a building's use and its proximity to areas most at risk of earthquakes: from simple strengthening to motion dampers throughout the building, to placing the entire structure on top of a giant shock absorber to isolate it from the movement of the ground.
 |