One in five houses deemed risky in Istanbul: Report
ISTANBUL
One out of every five buildings in Istanbul, where concerns have been looming for long over a potential earthquake, is built on geologically risky ground, the Istanbul Environmental Plan Report has revealed.
The report states that the building stock defined as “Existing and Irregular Housing Areas Built on Natural Thresholds” are built on areas comprising forests, water basins, stream beds and agricultural lands.
These areas, which are geologically unsuitable for settlement are also highly sloped and prone to landslides.
The report also said that there are 8,829 hectares of irregularly constructed housing areas on seven water basins of great importance, which are Terkos, Büyükçekmece, Küçükçekmece, Alibeyköy, Sazlıdere, Elmalı and Ömerli.
Landslide areas, sand dunes, erosion areas, sloping areas and filling areas are also categorized as unsuitable for settlement. The report emphasized that the housing areas in these geologically risky spots throughout the city constitute 20.4 percent of the total housing areas in Istanbul.
While Beykoz and Kadıköy on the Asian side were identified as the two districts where geologically unsuitable settlements are dense, the report also included that Büyükçekmece on the European Side covers the largest area with 3,019 hectares. Pendik, Bakırköy, Küçükçekmece, Güngören and Avcılar districts also have a high proportion of housing areas of this nature.
The report said these districts constitute the most problematic areas in terms of earthquake risk.
The report underlined that the majority of the housing areas built on forest areas are located on the European Side, especially in the Esenler district, and on the Asian side, with Beykoz and Ümraniye districts constituting the highest number of residential areas built on forests.
