Arrest Warrants For Architects Over Collapsed Buildings in Turkey Earthquake
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Architects’ Journal.
This is the sub-heading.
Turkish government officials have issued 113 arrest warrants for people involved with the construction of buildings that collapsed in last week’s earthquake – including architects, contractors and engineers – reports claim
The article is a serious review of what happened in Turkey, that might have contributed to the scale of the disaster.
These are three paragraphs.
The Guardian claimed the arrests were ‘likely to be seen as an attempt by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan … to deflect blame’, saying that the president ‘faces tough elections in May’.
As already reported by the AJ, regulations introduced in Turkey after a previous earthquake 24 years ago should have ensured that modern buildings were able to withstand quakes of this magnitude.
But it has been widely reported that tens of thousands of buildings were granted ‘construction amnesties’ over several decades. These enabled owners of structures built without the required safety certificates to gain legal exemption upon payment of a fee, a situation that critics say has long risked catastrophe.
The last paragraph sounds very much like institutionalised bribery.
The article is very much a must read.
The Anonymous Widower 
The Grenfell Tower fire occurred over five and a half years ago and although the Metropolitan Police have to questioned individuals under caution for a variety of criminal infractions, including those concerning building regulations and manslaughter, no one has as yet been arrested. A bit of a contrast?
Apparently the Turkish Building Codes relating to earthquake resistant structures were revised twice, in 2007 and 2018. A report reviewing the 2007 regs was published in 2011 that compared both American and European codes. This review identified a number of shortcomings in the Turkish specifications and yet they had to wait a further 8 years for improved requirements.
I suspect there will be a lot more to be uncovered regarding the culpability of everybody involved.
BTW I wonder if like UK law, Turkish building inspectors cannot be held culpable for subsequent outcomes.
Comment by fammorris | February 13, 2023 |
Just like the UK. Except in the UK there are no consequences
Comment by Ben | February 13, 2023 |