Minister unveils evacuation plan for expected Marmara earthquake

ISTANBUL

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has revealed an evacuation strategy for Istanbul, a densely populated city bracing for a potential major earthquake along the region's fault line.

One of the key evacuation routes will be established from the Çanakkale direction via nearby Tekirdağ province, allowing residents to move away from the potential danger zone, Uraloğlu told a group of journalists in the capital Ankara on Aug. 24.

Both the Osmangazi bridge and the Northern Marmara highway will also play crucial roles in facilitating the safe movement of people out of Istanbul.

The minister also disclosed that significant steps have been taken to fortify Istanbul's critical structures against the impending earthquake. Notably, the suspension ropes of the Bosphorus bridges have been recently renewed, and routine inspections have been carried out to assess their readiness, he informed.

Elaborating on these measures, Uraloğlu revealed that steel plates have been positioned beneath the viaduct beams of bridges to enhance their load-bearing capacity in case of a seismic event.

Uraloğlu also discussed the broader strategy of dispersing industrial infrastructure across the country to reduce the concentrated load on the earthquake-prone region. The minister pointed to cities with lower seismic risks, notably the Central Anatolian provinces of Konya and Kayseri, as potential hosts for industrial expansion.