Şube Başkanımız Cemal GÖKÇE`nin 18 Kasım 2015 tarihli `Hürriyet Daily News Gazetesi`nde yayımlanan haberi

Eklenme Tarihi: 20/11/2015

SERIES OF QUAKES SHAKE TURKISH, GREEK SHORES

A church is seen destroyed after a quake on the Greek island of Lefkada.

A succession of earthquakes över 24 hours beneath both the Marmara and Aegean seas has provided fresh vvarnings that Turkey is not prepared for a massive seismic disaster, despite the passage of 16 years since a devastating temblor. "Today, istanbul has been handed över to shopping malls and skyscrapers," said Cemal Gökçe, the head of the istanbul branch of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), noting that there were no places to erect tent cities because allocated land had been given över to land speculators.

Five earthquakes, three in the Marmara Sea and two others in the Aegean Sea, have raised concerns over Turkey`s readiness for a majör shock, with metropolitan İstanbul standing out as the riskiest.

5 AEGEAN AND MARMARA QUAKES RENEW CONCERNS OVER READİNESS

Five tremors under Turkey`s Marmara and Aegean vvaters in less than 24 hours provoke renevved concerns över the country`s readiness for a majör shock, 16 years after a catastrophic earthquake in its northvvest

Five consecutive earthquakes that occurred in the Marmara and Aegean seas in the last 24 hours have renevved fears that Turkey is not prepared for a strong temblor, even though the country has previously witnessed devastating seismic activity. A moderate earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale rattled istanbul on Nov. 16, causing short panic but no initial reports of damage or injuries. The Kandilli Observatory in istanbul said the tremor struck at a depth of 7.7 kilometers in the Sea of Marmara, to the south of the city, at 5:45 p.m., Agence Francty-Presse reported. The quake wa`S followed by two other quakes measuring 3.0 and 3.5 on the Richter scale at 6:36 p.m. and 7:04 p.m., respectively. The second quake struck at a depth of 8.4 kilometers vvhile the third one was at a depth of 6.9 kilometers in the Sea of Marmara, according to data released by the Provincial Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), Anadolu Agency reported. The quake was felt throughout istanbul, a metropolis of some 16 million that serves as the country`s financial and cultural hub. istanbul residents felt the ground shift, causing brief panic. Yesterday morning, another quake measuring 4.2 in magnitude occurred in the Aegean Sea, although no casualties or damage was reported in the Thracian province of Çanakkale`s Gökçeada Uğurlu village, vvhich is the closest land area to the quake, 152 kilometers away from the epicenter. But on the same day, a strong earthquake struck off the vvestern Greek island of Lefkada, killing at least two people and damaging several buildings, Greek poliçe said.

At least two killed in Greece

The epicenter of the magnitude-6.0 quake was 13 kilometers west of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. A woman in her sixties was killed by a falling rock caused by a landslide on her house in the village of Ponti Vassilikis, the island`s deputy mayor Christos Kaliforis told Vima radio. Another vvoman was killed in the village of Athani, he said. Greek news agency Ana said four people had been taken to hospital with light injuries. The quake also damaged the main road in the southwestem part of the island. The U.S. Geological Survey registered the quake as magrıitude 6.5. Earthquakes are common in Greece, vvhich is one of the vvorld`s most seismically active areas, though serious injuries and deaths are rare. More than 100 people died in a severe quake near Athens in 1999. The Ionian is particularly seismically active, and nevv buildings on the area`s islands are constructed to strict anti-seismic standards. Kefalonia vvas struck by a series of strong earthquakes, tvvo of them vvith magnitudes of around 6.0, in January 2014, causing damage and minör injuries, but no fatalities. Those temblors avvakened memories of catastrophic 1953 quakes that flattened nearly ali the islands` structures, killing hundreds of people. Turkey vvas shaken by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in the early hours of Aug. 17, 1999, vvhose epicenter vvas the Gölcük district in the northvvestern province of Kocaeli, the deadliest in recent history that left around 18,000 people dead and around 50,000 others vvounded. The country, hovvever, failed to take necessary actions against the earthquake, a recent report has revealed. "Today, istanbul has been handed över to shopping malls and skyscrapers. The provincial Disaster Center Council vvorked for three years after the 1999 Gölcük earthquake and identified 493 areas for assembly and for building tents. Today, three-quarters of these areas have been given away for land speculation, unearned income," said Cemal Gökçe, the head of the istanbul branch of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB). "No space to set up tents and to gather has been left in istanbul," he said in a statement.