what if a earthquake happened in istanbul?

Question

i know that many of the buildings in istanbul would collapse in a earthquake, and it would be terrible.
however , would this destruction be good.?
will turkish contractors and developers finally have rules and codes , and inspectors behind necks watching carefully there every move, making sure they do things right. with so much urban space , the face of this city could be changed. the empty space could be used to build great towers and new planned roads and highways.

i have been to istanbul many times and it is like a dense jungle that you can barely walk through.
if a earthquake happens it would be like a forest fire that clears the over growth. that way istanbul could begin building planned roads and highways , that make travel a lot easier.

also what is the yearly income the city recives .

yes many people will die but that is imminent.
also why dont people learn from there mistakes?
i see buildings under construction in that city that look like they are being built to support hay piles.
the government there should learn to stricten building codes.

i would be very sad if a earthquake happened there. sultan ahmet and all of those ancient ruins .
also the millions who live there.

Answer 1

Scientists =
Yes earthquake in Istanbul will be but we dont know WHEN :)
people in Istanbul =
I know my home is not good for a earthquake but WHERE can I go : )
Goverment =
Our rescue teams are READY :)
People on the world =
Only a news :( WHEN , WHERE , READY )...../..../20..... , in Istanbul , ready for the prime time .

Answer 2

Istanbul is a beautiful city. In a country that is stunning.
Any earthquake would be a huge disaster.

I do not wish it on Turkey, I do not wish it on Istanbul or any other, old city.

Yes, Istanbul is spread out. Yes, Istanbul ( Byzantine, Constantinopel ) is a very old city and has therefor old buildings. All this adds to the charm of the city.
Just visiting the Grand Bazar ( built in 1460's ) and still operating is a delightful experience.
Visiting the old city with the Sultans Palace, the fish market, the Haga Sofia, the Blue Mosque, is wonderful.

It would be a catastrophy if an earthquake would hit that city.

I compare it with loosing the Pyramids.

But in addition Hundred-thousand people, or ore, would die.

Terrible. A frightening thought.

May we be proteced from that - EVER !

Answer 3

Depending on the city's foundation's structural integrity, part of the city could sink and potentially create canals.

Answer 4

so u think a disaster will be good?

millions can die in a big eartquake! (as in every city in the world)

what a thoughtful person you are!

also rebuildin the city can take so many years! so dont be funny pls...

Answer 5

Found this article, if a major earth does hit it could result in a death toll of 100,000


Tue Jan 2, 6:34 PM



By Emma Ross-Thomas

ADVERTISEMENT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - As the magnitude of an earthquake in a television advert gradually mounts, the stone letters ISTANBUL crack, and then crumble to dust.


If it seems alarmist, builder Cuneyt Kilic, whose company AKS Anatolian Housing is behind the graphic depicting the collapse of Turkey's largest city, says it is merely realistic.


Many scientists agree the question is not if, but when in the next three decades a major earthquake will hit Istanbul, the former seat of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires and source of more than half Turkey's industrial output.


Turkey's top seismologist said in November "the big one" could kill more than 100,000 people.


Turkey lies on a major fault line and has had 90 earthquakes higher than magnitude 5 since 1903, including one in August 1999 when nearly 18,000 people were killed.


Of those deaths 1,000 were in Istanbul, and many were blamed on sub-standard buildings thrown up by a construction industry rife with corruption.


"At the moment of the earthquake, coming from under ground, there's a sound, it's like a washing machine on a spin cycle," recalled grocer Gungor Dincer, who survived that quake.


An earthquake in Istanbul in 1509, accompanied by floods and weeks of aftershocks, was so devastating it was described as the "small doomsday," opening fissures in the ground, bringing down the city walls and knocking over every minaret in the city, according to various accounts.


The city of 13 million has been hit by quakes since then, but the epicentre has not been in Istanbul since 1894, or according to some experts 1766, when the quake was accompanied by a tsunami.


"NOT SCAREMONGERING"


"We're not scaremongering," Kilic, deputy head of AKS told Reuters, saying people should be aware of the predictions. Some clearly are, as AKS has already sold 60 percent of a new development of quake-resistant steel-built houses due for handover this year.


Concern has been mounting. A series of small earthquakes filled newspapers in recent weeks with expert predictions on when the next big one would come.


In October local media quoted National Earthquake Council Chairman Haluk Eyidogan criticising authorities for failing to enforce rules on construction and structural inspections.


Istanbul's governor acknowledged that many of the city's buildings would not withstand a large quake; professors at one leading university recently resolved to stop talking to the press to avoid stirring panic.


But if the fear of a quake is proving good business for some, Istanbul's ability to protect the less wealthy is a political concern.


An earthquake plan was launched after the 1999 quake near Istanbul, but experts say no action has been taken on the studies commissioned.


One such study completed in 2004 shows that of 16,000 buildings in one vulnerable area 2,300 were declared very high risk -- or expected to collapse in a quake. Two similar studies are due to be completed in other areas next year.

"Nothing has been done yet," said Haluk Sucuoglu, professor of civil engineering and member of the National Earthquake Council.

"There's no political motivation related to this. They claim they are motivated but we don't see any action," he added.

"$10 BILLION, 10 YEARS"

Amid such criticism, Istanbul recently launched a major disaster simulation exercise to reassure the public.

Istanbul municipality's director of soil and earthquake research, Mahmut Bas, told Reuters hospitals, schools and fire stations had been reinforced, houses built legally since 1999 met stricter rules, and the rescue operation had improved.

Turkey in October 2005 signed a $400 million plan with the World Bank to improve its preparation for an emergency, strengthen facilities for earthquake resistance and ensure better enforcement of building codes.

That sum compares with a terse estimate from Istanbul's Bas for preparing the city for a quake: "$10 billion, 10 years."

To invest that would be tricky in a heavily indebted European Union-applicant country where the International Monetary Fund keeps a close eye on spending.

And in a city which receives tens of thousands of rural migrants a year, and where luxury malls coexist with shanty towns, upscale buildings like those Kilic sells can only be aimed at the minority.

In Turkey, where the underground economy is huge, almost a third of the construction industry in unregistered, according to an estimate from the head of Turkey's Cement Producers' Association Adnan Ignebekcili.

That leaves the rest in the city to weigh their options: refit buildings, pull them down, or trust to fate.

Halim Sahin, an Istanbul real estate agent, said only 20 to 30 percent of his clients even ask about how safe a building would be in an earthquake.

"There's fatalism. People think you could die in a car crash, or of a heart attack ... As a society we're fatalists."

(Additional reporting by Thomas Grove)

Answer 6

....most of the people who live in Istanbul, will die or lose their relatives, houses etc..

Answer 7

people would die.

Answer 8

that would suck... isnt the haiga sofia there?