Another hospital to be evacuated due to quake risk in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

The deadly earthquakes in Türkiye’s south and a series of aftershocks later have created a panic over the much-anticipated quake in Istanbul, as the Health Ministry has announced the evacuation of another hospital in the province’s Kağıthane district after it was deemed risky.

Following the massive quakes and powerful aftershocks that engulfed 11 provinces of the country, officials in Istanbul started inspections to determine whether buildings were earthquake-resistant.

As many schools in the city were evacuated on the grounds that they might collapse during an earthquake, a similar process started to take place for hospitals.

While almost all of Cerrahpaşa Medical School was evacuated due to earthquake risk, Kağıthane State Hospital, built by the Istanbul Municipality after the 1999 major earthquake, was also found to be risky.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the relocation decision at a press conference with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Koca declared that the 75-bed hospital is planned to be moved to the Seyrantepe building of Şişli Hamidiye Etfal Hospital within two weeks.

Meanwhile, the recently evacuated Cerrahpaşa Medical School’s physicians and med students are trying to find homes for the hospital’s animals.

Veterinarian Suzan Murat stated that they are trying to give the animals to reliable people.

“There are at least 50 cats now; we found homes for 11 of them and adopted a dog ourselves. It is difficult to get adult cats to be adopted as people usually want kittens, but we will try to get them adopted one by one as soon as possible,” Murat said.

Stressing that at least 10 sick cats are abandoned every month on hospital grounds, Murat said the cats die from car accidents, dog attacks, or diseases on campus.

“Our cats are constantly looking for owners. We want compassionate people who are determined to provide them with love and care,” she added.