Turkey’s Marmara Earthquake – Nine Years Later

Civil Engineer Emin Atak revisits a seven-year-old government-sponsored housing complex in the outskirts of Istanbul that he helped make a reality and smiles with satisfaction.

“All types of modern facilities and amenities such as natural gas, electricity, sewerage systems and even parking were considered when we constructed this complex,” notes Atak, who was on-site manager of the Government of Turkey’s Marmara Emergency Earthquake Reconstruction (MEER) Project.  “It’s made very well.”

Atak isn’t exaggerating. The complex is well planned with sidewalks, street lighting and tarmac roads. There are also schools, health centers and grocery stores (the latter constructed through European Investment Bank-financed projects). The apartments themselves have adequate ventilation, protect residents from extreme weathers and take advantage of natural light.

But these calm environs belie the high-pressure conditions under which this complex in Izmit - and many others like it - was built.
 
Winter, 1999

Reeling from the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that struck in the early hours of August 17, 1999 in Marmara and measured 7.4 on the Richter’s scale, the Government of Turkey rushed to sponsor the construction of low-cost apartments to accommodate 200,000 people who were left without homes (an estimated 17,000 lost their lives).

“The sheer number of people affected by the earthquake was overwhelming,” recalls Atak.

A survey taken within a month of the earthquake indicated that a majority of the victims were the poor, with average monthly incomes of 168 Turkish Lira or US$363, which at the time was half that of most people in the Marmara region.

“Everyone was anxious about what the future would hold,” recalls Naci Altay, a resident in the apartment complex.  “We had little faith in the authorities’ ability to help us and were terrified of the prospect of returning to our destroyed homes, even though they said they would fix them - particularly since we were still feeling tremors.”

It was estimated at the time that half of the affected homes, about 150,000, could be restored and that the cost of reconstructing and repairing buildings would range from US$750m to US$1.2b.

“We also had to protect our belongings,” recalls Altay, “tragedies like this don’t always bring out the best in people.”

The city most affected was Adapazari, where entire districts and a commercial zone were completely destroyed. In addition, forty-five percent of nearby northern Golcuk were decimated, with parts of the coastline sunk into the sea and key infrastructure networks demolished.

Two months after the earthquake, an estimated 600,000 people found themselves searching for emergency shelter, and the approaching winter conditions only worsened the problem.  To accommodate for this situation, the government and search and rescue teams put up 80,000 tents.

“Many of our tents were nothing more than a piece of plastic tied across wooden frames,” recalls Altay, “but the luckier ones received tents supplied by the Turkish Army - those tents could be heated.”

Building the Apartments

“People were still living in tents ten months later when we started building the apartments,” recalls Atak who coordinated five contractors and an inspector in Gölcük as they built over 3,500 apartments.

A total 34,000 apartments were constructed within two years of the disaster and a third, or 11,500, were constructed through the MEER Project.

The MEER project was prepared within the framework of a comprehensive program totaling US$1.8 billion, out of which US$505 million was financed by the Bank. The project was developed by the World Bank in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program, the European Union and the European Investment Bank as well as a wide range of government institutions.  The World Bank was particularly suited to assist Turkey in this situation because it had provided support in the area of disaster recovery and management through two earlier projects.

The project-financed apartments were constructed in Gölcük, Izmit and Adapazari.  The new apartments are in the vicinity of the areas most affected by the earthquake, but their locations were selected for their soil strength and comparatively lower water tables so they would be better positioned to withstand a future earthquake.  Areas that were more prone to earthquakes were selected for recreational activities and low-rise, low density commercial buildings.  Higher construction standards were also used to ensure the ability to withstand future seismic events.

Within the framework of the MEER project the apartment buildings were constructed in five configurations and contain between eight to twelve units each.

“The apartments are each about 80 square meters,” says Atak, “so, they’re not very big. But they are in line with the kind of housing most people had prior to the earthquake.”

The apartments were allocated to families using a lottery system, but were limited to compensating for collapsed and heavily damaged rural houses and urban apartment buildings.  Those who were provided apartments also had to satisfy certain requirements such as possession of a title that indicated their ownership of a damaged residence.

Special consideration was made for the physically handicapped, who received accessible, stand-alone units.

“We consulted with individuals so we could cater to their specific needs,” says Atak.  “So, after speaking with them, we did things like place viewing mirrors in the house at an angle so people with physical limitations could use them more easily.

Moving On

A unique element of the MEER project was that because of effective monitoring during the construction phase by on-the-ground government staff, the project resulted in the creation of not only housing, but also public facilities 

“We could see early on that if these people were to move on from the earthquake, just providing apartments would not be sufficient,” recalls Atak.

As such, the apartment complexes now include 17 health facilities supplied with medical materials and equipment, schools, walkways, sport fields, playgrounds and landscaped parks.

Care was also taken to ensure that the apartments not only allowed for the residents to adjust psychologically after the earthquake, but also become owners of homes that have a value on par with the regional real estate market.  Consequently, access to transportation and employment opportunities were ensured.

“Ford has established a manufacturing plant nearby recently,” says Atak’s former counterpart in Adapazari, Ibrahim Zor.  “Developments such as these provide an opportunity for the residents to live productive lives.”

However, Altay gauges success through simpler measures. 

“The first night my family and I moved into our apartment, we were too tired to think about anything. But after several days I noticed that I was sleeping peacefully.  Fortunately, this is still the case after nine years.”