Two major earthquakes cause devastation across Turkey and Syria
New ScientistAPR 2023
The Turkish government is doing everything that it can to hold corrupt developers, officials, and contractors accountable. For too long, contractors and building companies have cut corners, leading to thousands of deaths in this horrific tragedy. The government's investigation will be as thorough as possible, as the public deserves answers to why so much devastation has occurred.
Sadly, many impacts of this earthquake could have been lessened if only Erdoğan's government had dealt seriously with supervising urban development in quake-prone areas, enforcing the mandatory earthquake-resistant design codes to buildings its legislation approved in 2000. There are two major fault lines along the Anatolian Plate, and earthquake mitigation is vital given the likelihood of catastrophic tremors. Erdoğan's prospects for re-election seem to be dwindling as anger grows.