Fireside Chat with Dr. Kit Miyamoto on 2023 Turkiye Earthquake: Failures, Damage Assessment and Lessons for Resilience of Infrastructure Systems
- English
About the event
The 2023 Turkiye Earthquake was a catastrophic seismic event. It was notable for its high magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, followed by a significant aftershock of 7.5, resulted in over 40,000 fatalities, widespread physical damage with more than 6,000 buildings collapsing and an estimated 300,000 either destroyed or severely damaged. A contributing factor to the scale of destruction was the lack of stringent seismic safety checks in buildings due to government-issued construction amnesties, along with the lack of retrofitting in older structures.
The earthquake also had a substantial economic impact, with direct damages estimated to be around $34.2 billion, equivalent to 4% of the country’s GDP in 2021. Critical infrastructure including roads, bridges, and railways were destroyed, hampering rescue operations and complicating future reconstruction efforts. The region continued to experience a high level of seismic activity with over 30,000 aftershocks in the months following the main earthquake.
Key takeaways
Exploring the multifaceted approach to disaster resilience, from immediate response to long-term recovery and future preparedness, with spotlight on the following aspects:
- Leveraging Remote Sensing and GIS for Rapid Assessment
- Damage Assessment to Long-term Recovery: Case of Buildings
- Build Back Better: Examples of Resilient Infrastructure
- Building Typologies and Code Implications
- Risk Communication and Local Capacity Building