IT IS NOT THE EARTHQUAKE BUT THE BUILDING THAT KILLS
Following the disaster experienced on January 24, the saying “It is not the earthquake but the building that kills” was once again confirmed. Nazmi Şahin, President of the Building Inspection and Earthquake Engineering Association, stated in his remarks to Dünya that not a single inspected building collapsed in the earthquake.
The application that, since January 1, 2019, has paved the way for chips to be placed inside the concrete used in construction so that concrete quality can be monitored electronically resembles the black box found in aircraft. To check the quality of the concrete poured at construction sites, chips are placed in different sections of the poured concrete.
Thanks to the chip, it is electronically recorded when the concrete was tested for breaking strength, at what quality it was poured, which engineer inspected it, and in which laboratory it was inspected. There has been demand for this application used in Turkey from 5 countries.
BUILDINGS THAT UNDERWENT INSPECTION ARE STILL STANDING
The earthquake disasters experienced in Elazığ and Malatya once again demonstrated the importance of building inspection. Nazmi Şahin, President of the Building Inspection and Earthquake Engineering Association, stated that not a single inspected building collapsed in the Elazığ and Malatya earthquakes.
Efforts to remedy the shortcomings arising from implementation in building inspection, which came onto the agenda in Turkey following the 1999 earthquake, are continuing. At this point, two important regulations included in the omnibus law issued in May 2018 have been in force since January 1, 2019.
Under the regulation, as of January 1, 2019, building inspection firms began to be assigned to projects by lottery through a central system. With this application, the system in which contractors themselves chose their building inspector has now come to an end.
Nazmi Şahin, President of the Building Inspection and Earthquake Engineering Association, stated that 17 building inspection organizations operated in Elazığ and 16 in Malatya. Şahin said, "Since 2010, the inspection of 2,576 structures covering an area of 4,791,730 square meters has been carried out in Elazığ, and of 1,963 buildings covering an area of 7,232,956 square meters in Malatya."
THE SYSTEM IS NOW HEALTHIER
He explained that, owing to the problems that arose, it did not function soundly, and that inspector firms would go to the contractors’ doorstep, saying “I want to inspect you” in order to seek work. Şahin, noting that the fundamental problem was that people inspected the very source from which they received their payment, said that the system had now become healthier.
Under the new application, the score of building inspection organizations that may operate in the provinces is taken as zero for each building group, and they are ranked by a lottery drawn in the presence of a notary. There are also limits on the size of the areas that building inspection firms may inspect.
ELECTRONIC CONTROL OF CONCRETE
As of January 1, 2019, an application was launched that paved the way for chips to be placed inside the concrete used in construction so that concrete quality can be monitored electronically. The system bears similarities to the black box application found in aircraft.
Nazmi Şahin, noting that this application is of great importance, explained that during 2019 they had received requests from 5 countries among the Turkic Republics indicating that they too wished to use the system. Şahin drew attention to the fact that not a single one of the inspected buildings collapsed in the Elazığ and Malatya earthquakes.
HOW DOES THE CHIP SYSTEM WORK?
To check the quality of the concrete poured at construction sites, chips are placed in different sections of the poured concrete. Thanks to the chip, it is electronically recorded when the concrete was tested for breaking strength, at what quality it was poured, which engineer inspected it, and in which laboratory the concrete quality inspection was carried out.
THE DASK BUILDING RATE IS VERY LOW
Together with DASK, which entered our lives in 2000, the rate of earthquake-insured dwellings in Turkey, where there are a total of 17,882,080 dwellings, is at the level of 53.50 percent. In the Eastern Anatolia Region, where there are a total of 777,020 dwellings, this rate is only 40.20 percent. In Elazığ, where there are a total of 123,310 dwellings, 43,137 dwellings have a compulsory earthquake insurance policy. In Elazığ, where the insured rate is as low as 35 percent, the premium generated is at the level of 7,250,000 TL. In Malatya, where there are a total of 165,690 dwellings, only 62,997 dwellings have a compulsory earthquake insurance policy. In this province the insured rate is 38 percent. Atilla Benli, President of the Insurance Association of Turkey, stated that as a sector they had launched efforts for the insured in Elazığ, Malatya and surrounding regions affected by earthquake damage.
WE SHOULD TALK NOT ABOUT FAULT LINES BUT ABOUT EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT STRUCTURES
Yavuz Işık, President of the European Ready Mixed Concrete Association (ERMCO) and the Turkish Ready Mixed Concrete Association, said, “We should no longer talk about fault lines, but about earthquake-resistant construction.” Işık made the following remarks: “In the Turkey Earthquake Hazard Map, we see that more than 70 percent of our population is in high earthquake-hazard zones. Of 6.7 million dwellings, 1.5 million need to be renewed urgently."
SOURCE OF THE NEWS
https://www.emlakgundemi.com.tr/sektorel/depremi-yenmenin-yolu-yapi-denetiminden-geciyor-h11581.html
https://twitter.com/nazmisahin19/status/1222110957587116032?s=12
