Draft Report of Parliamentary Earthquake Investigation Commission Completed
Turkish Parliamentary Commission Completes Draft Report on Kahramanmaraş Earthquake
The Assembly Research Commission, which was established to investigate the devastating earthquake that hit 11 provinces centered in Kahramanmaraş, has completed its draft report. According to the report, the earthquake was described as "the disaster of the century" as it affected a large area and caused significant damage.
The report revealed that Turkey has nearly 450 faults that produce earthquakes and cause heavy damage. The causes of earthquakes were also analyzed, and the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration's report on behalf of the Kahramanmaraş Governorate in 2008 was quoted in the report. The report emphasized that the East Anatolian Fault would produce an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 and above.
The recommendations in the draft report were listed as follows:
– Resilient cities should be built in provinces at risk.
– Earthquake preparation should begin from the high-risk areas in Turkey.
– The project of each building should be preserved, and the project should be embezzled by the manager of the building.
– The central government, local government, private administration, and the public should work together to prevent natural disasters and reduce damages.
– Rational balances should be established between authority and responsibilities.
– In all provinces, 'disaster management and planning' units should be established.
– Central and local level communication, emergency call, and information communication systems infrastructure and transportation systems for emergency response and assistance should be developed in accordance with technology.
– Houses should not be built on fault lines.
– Fault lines must be mapped.
– Concrete petrography must be carried out to determine the concrete quality of old buildings.
In addition, the report made references to the report of the GNAT Earthquake Investigation Commission established in 2021. Suggestions such as the establishment of the electronic communication infrastructure with mobile communication, the establishment of the infrastructure for the public security and emergency communication system, and the deployment of mobile base stations with satellite transmission throughout the country were included.
The draft report will be distributed to the members of the commission, and after its finalization, it will be presented to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. It is hoped that the recommendations from the report will lead to better preparation and response strategies in preventing future natural disasters in the country.
