Mayor İmamoğlu deems impending Istanbul quake Turkey’s 'survival issue'

Duvar English

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on Aug. 28 shared his comments on the major earthquake that is expected to happen in the megacity in the near future.

Speaking during a meeting of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey in Adıyaman province, İmamoğlu first talked about the Feb. 6 earthquakes that shook Turkey’s southeast in 2023. Adıyaman was one of the majorly affected provinces in the quakes.

“We are a country that has given the worst test in this regard. In this era, we are the ones who have built the infrastructure for the earthquake to turn into a beyond-disaster situation that completely destroys our people, so to speak. It is a shame that 25 years after the Gölcük Earthquake in 1999, we are experiencing an earthquake with a more painful human loss than Gölcük,” İmamoğlu said.

İmamoğlu said they have to work “until the happiness, peace, economic level, educational infrastructure, and all conditions” of the people affected by these quakes “are at the same level” as other Turkish citizens.

Then İmamoğlu was asked, “Does Istanbul scare you after seeing the (Feb. 6) earthquake zone?” 

“Istanbul is a city where we feel this aspect in every moment and we continue our work. This is a total struggle. Unfortunately, we still do not have the ability to act together in this total struggle,” he said.

“Earthquake is the country's survival issue. Especially in such an environment in Istanbul, all institutions with all their capabilities should come together and establish an order and produce work. I have insisted on this for 5.5 years and I continue to do so,” he added.

Experts have been waiting for a major earthquake with a magnitude above 7 to hit Istanbul in the near future. The long-awaited earthquake is expected to create massive material devastation in the city, and experts often note that the construction in the metropolis is unlikely to be prepared for the quake.