No serious earthquake damage to dams
ANKARA
A total of 140 dams were inspected in the earthquake zone and no situation requiring urgent intervention has been found as there was no serious damage, The General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) stated.
DSI responded to the claims that some dams were cracked and heavily damaged in the earthquakes, explaining that only partial and trivial damages were detected in some dams.
Murat Alp, deputy general director of DSI, briefly informed the Parliament’s Earthquake Investigation Commission on the status of dams in earthquake zones and the work carried out.
Alp stated that DSI’s 5,026 construction machines have removed 3 million tons of debris so far. Field arrangements of tent cities and container areas were also made while drinking water and sewage lines were dug.
He noted that the flooding of Hatay Airport and the terminal building due to the rising water in the Asi River was prevented by draining the water with six pumps sent to the region by DSI.
“While 140 dams in the quake zone were examined, no situation requiring urgent intervention was found,” he claimed.
Cracks were detected in the top points of the dam body of Kartalkaya Dam, and the damaged part will be removed.
Twelve dams in the southern province of Hatay were examined by DSI technical teams. Reyhanlı, Yarseli and Büyük Karaçay dams were partially damaged, Alp said.
According to Alp, only 2 percent of the 190 facilities that irrigate 907,876 hectares of land in 11 quake-hit provinces were damaged.
Atatürk Dam had been checked four times in detail and “no problems were observed,” he added.
