20,000 historical buildings at risk
İSTANBUL
Oktay Özel, Head of Istanbul Municipality (IBB) Department of Cultural Assets, stated that 20,000 historical buildings in the city should be made earthquake-resistant as soon as possible.
Özel said that there are currently 35,234 historical and cultural heritage sites in Istanbul and 20,000 of these buildings face the risk of collapsing during the expected earthquake.
“We need to take care of these historical legacies carefully. We have a responsibility to transfer all of our historical and cultural heritage sites to the future generations,” Özel said.
According to Özel’s statement, the historical heritages of Istanbul are concentrated in the region which is going to be affected the most in the event of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.
Approximately 56 percent of all historical sites are in that region with the highest acceleration values.
Özer said that these buildings must be prepared for the devastating impact of the expected Istanbul earthquake.
He added that only 30 percent of all the historical buildings in Istanbul are in good structural condition.
“We need to develop short, medium and long-term strategies to make Istanbul’s cultural heritage ready for earthquakes,” Özel said.
