Investigators identify main cause of casualties in Turkey-Syria earthquakes

The Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team looked into the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes. (EEFIT/ PA)

The main cause of casualties in earthquakes that claimed more than 50,000 lives was building stock comprised primarily of reinforced concrete structures, according to a report.

The Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team’s (EEFIT) investigation into the disaster that hit parts of Turkey and Syria on February 6 2023 said that “profit drive pushes all players within the construction industry to take shortcuts”.

The report’s authors added: “The auditing and quality control mechanisms embedded in the legal and bureaucratic processes should be strengthened to ensure code compliance.

“The legalisation of non-compliant buildings through amnesties cannot continue.”

Deficiencies were found even in the newest building stock, according to the report, which calls for a review of building stock and infrastructure to assess risk levels for future earthquakes.

They said that building stock was “primarily composed of reinforced concrete structures, which are therefore the main cause of the casualties”.

Within one week of the quakes, EEFIT, a joint venture between industry and universities, gathered a team of 30 global experts to assess the damage.

They studied the science, engineering and data related to the earthquakes including geotechnics, the structural and infrastructure impact, and the relief response and recovery.

Cambridge University’s Professor Emily So, who co-led the investigation, said: “The 2023 Turkey and Syria earthquakes were truly tragic, hitting an already fragile population, including migrants.

“Our field work and remote analysis revealed many issues, including the issue of non-compliant buildings with little seismic resilience.

“Building code compliance needs to be strengthened.”

The investigators said the earthquakes caused the “loss of more than 50,000 lives, some 100,000 injuries and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure, estimated to be in the range of 84.1 billion US dollars (£66.9 billion) for Turkey alone”.

Their 354-page report is published by the Institution of Structural Engineers.