1.5 mln houses under quake risk: Minister

ISTANBUL

In an effort to mitigate destruction in the event of a potential Marmara earthquake, around 1.5 million houses, with 600,000 classified as very urgent, require immediate renovation, according to Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Mehmet Özhaseki.

"What we have to do is to build houses meticulously and with zero tolerance in all construction stages, adhering to scientific data and taking into account the underground mobility of Türkiye's ancient geography," said Özhaseki, speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of an urban transformation project in Istanbul's Gaziosmanpaşa district on July 8.

Highlighting the material damage caused by the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş on Feb. 6, the minister informed that the reconstruction of residences and workplaces in the reserve areas could reach up to $110 billion.

As part of the preparations for the anticipated major earthquake in the Marmara region, a project has been unveiled to rebuild 500,000 of the 1.5 million at-risk residences in Istanbul on-site. Additionally, satellite cities with 500,000 residences will be established on both sides of the megacity to relocate the remaining houses.

A protocol has been signed with the Defense Ministry to utilize the military area between the Sultangazi and Başakşehir districts on the European side as a reserve area. Furthermore, the reserve area on the Asian side will be located in the Tuzla, Pendik and Maltepe districts.

The megacity with 15.9 million residents that last experienced heavy damage from earthquakes in 1999 is on edge, according to the repeated warnings about the expected quake with a magnitude of 7.0 or higher.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç attended a disaster coordination meeting in Adıyaman, one of the earthquake-hit provinces in the country's south. The minister disclosed that 1,757 suspects have been implicated thus far in quake-related investigations, with 351 arrests made. Judicial control procedures are currently underway for 642 individuals, he added.