Obstacle to earthquake scanning from property owners! 162 thousand applications were received, 79 thousand were denied.

In Istanbul, "Rapid scanning building test" which is offered free of charge for earthquake risk could not be performed for 79,000 out of 162,000 buildings whose applications were received due to the refusal of all owners.

FREE SCANNING TEST UPON APPLICATION

According to the information obtained from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, IMM has been conducting the free "Rapid scanning building test" in the city in collaboration with Istanbul Technical University since 2020 using the "Pera 2019" method. After the applications made by the residents of the city through the website https://binatespitiformu.ibb.gov.tr/, the teams go to the specified addresses.

While the plaster is first removed from 5 columns and the concrete reading is taken, the number, intervals, and locations of the iron are determined with an X-ray device. Then, until the reinforcement inside is reached with a process called "Scraping" in one column, the corrosion status and properties of the used iron are measured by taking a corrosion allowance.

The teams draw a general survey and project of the building and analyze the seismic safety of the building by analyzing all the data collected from the building in the office with ground values. As a result of the test, buildings are classified as A and B low risk, C medium risk, D high risk, and E very high risk. For buildings classified as D and E, it is recommended to perform a comprehensive analysis in accordance with the Law on Transformation of Areas Under Disaster Risk No. 6306.

Applications for the project, which is applied to residential type buildings with reinforced concrete up to 10 floors and load-bearing masonry systems up to 5 floors, with priority given to buildings built before the year 2000, have been accepted since 2020.

162 THOUSAND APPLICATIONS MADE, 35 THOUSAND BUILDINGS INSPECTED

After the earthquakes on February 6, 2023, which were centered in Kahramanmaras, the demand for the test increased and 162,000 applications have been made so far. Upon application, the teams visited 114,000 buildings. However, the "Rapid scanning building test" could not be performed for these buildings as 79,000 of them did not give permission.

FOUND TO BE "SELF-COLLAPSIBLE"

The teams performed the rapid scanning process in 35,000 buildings. As a result of the inspections, it was determined that half of the buildings, most of which were built before 1999, were classified as D and E. It was found that 318 of these 35,000 buildings were in a self-collapsible condition and 1,238 of them had no earthquake safety.

Out of the buildings where the "rapid scanning building test" could be performed, 293 were demolished or entered the evacuation process by being declared as "risky buildings". As a result, more than 10,000 people living in 3,060 independent units in these 293 buildings were saved from risk. A rental assistance package was prepared for the homeowners living in these 5,381 buildings, which were determined to be of very high risk in class E, in order to accelerate the evacuation, demolition, and renewal processes.

According to the data at IMM, there are more than 1.2 million buildings in Istanbul, of which 800,000 were built before the year 2000. These buildings are waiting to be renewed by considering the earthquake risk. It is aimed to renew 200,000 of these 800,000 buildings as a priority.

HISTORICAL BUILDINGS ARE ALSO AT RISK

There are 35,627 historical artifacts in Istanbul. While it was determined that 10% of this historical building stock is abandoned and in ruins, the number of critical and abandoned buildings reaches 3,500. Warning letters were written to 1,000 of these 3,500 abandoned buildings by the Conservation Implementation and Inspection Offices (KUDEB) for documentation and urgent intervention.