Gilded: steel ball as a vibration absorber in the Taipei 101 high-rise
Image: Mauritius Images
It is possible to build houses in such a way that they can withstand strong earthquakes. Life-saving technology doesn’t have to cost a lot, and some can even be retrofitted. It often just lacks the will.
Sfate. This is how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the cause of death for more than 40,000 people. It is a lie, a blatant lie. Because almost all of these victims could have survived if the knowledge that civil engineers possess was consistently applied.
Anyone who speaks to experts in the field of earthquake-proof construction hears one sentence over and over again: It’s not earthquakes that kill, but buildings. But they can be designed to withstand earthquakes, at least of the magnitude experienced in south-eastern Turkey in the second week of February. Holding out does not mean that there will be no damage to the houses, but that sufficient survival and escape space will remain.