A Call For Civil Initiative On Earthquakes From TÇMB

In its press statement it made following the Izmir Earthquake, Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association, invited all nongovernmental organizations, actors of the sector, and professional chambers that play a part in the reinforcement, renovation, examination, and inspection of buildings to come together in order to buttress the work of the authorities in this field.

Dr. Tamer Saka, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association (TCMB), invited attention to the fact that Turkey's presence on a seismic belt rendered the quality of the houses built much more important and he called for a "civil initiative" to reinforce and support the work of central and local governments to prevent losses of lives in earthquakes.

TÇMB President Dr. Tamer Saka said, "As TÇMB, we undertake a civil initiative concerning this issue and invite all actors of the sector and professional chambers that play a part in the reinforcement of buildings to come together to reinforce and support the work of central and local governments for this issue." Saka provided the following views in his statement:

“Earthquakes are our inevitable reality. It is possible to prevent losses of lives by way of using the right materials in structures. Use of wrong materials gives birth to disasters. The Izmir Earthquake once again demonstrated it. While numerous buildings on the same belt remained sturdy, we incurred fatal casualties due to the collapsed buildings. It is important to reinforce, renovate, control, and inspect those structures as soon as possible. It must also be compulsory to use quality products in buildings. Consumers must have access to the entire progress of buildings, starting from the foundation. Restrictions must be imposed on title deed transactions of the buildings with earthquake risk to encourage transformation in view of earthquakes. The earthquake issue is no longer a matter of public health and it has become a national economy and security risk. Safe design and building techniques as well as product quality are also very important in order to minimize the risk of fatalities. If we want to build the towns of the future and live in houses that are safe against earthquakes, we must be attentive to a substantial extent. We think that we must provide contribution to the constitution of the policies and strategies that are rational, that can be put into practice fast, and that are economically meaningful.

We, as the construction sectors like cement, concrete, and iron, as well as contractors, architects, and engineers must come together and produce different solutions in strengthening old buildings and building new structures as to be resistant against earthquakes. We witnessed the importance of the issue once again through the Izmir Earthquake.

We wish blessings from Allah to those who lost their lives and urgent healing to those who were injured. We wish that the losses of lives and properties will not increase."