Mr Genes, the engineering professor, said the destruction drove home the importance of listening to scientists. Ten years ago, Mr. Genes was part of a team that analyzed the potential damage caused to Antakya by an earthquake and found that many of the buildings assessed were susceptible to collapse.
A map showing where the shaking was strongest during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey. The shaking was strongest along the fault in the region and some of the most severe shaking occurred in Antakya.
Source: USGS
Shaking intensity shown only for the first earthquake on February 6.
By Scott Reinhard
“Politicians have ignored what the science says,” Mr Genes said. “They always thought about how they could get political support. For this reason, on very bad soil conditions, just so that people can earn a lot of money in a short time, they allowed them to build 10-storey buildings in Antakya, or more than 10. It could be possible, but you have to make huge investments in the foundation or ground improvement.
After the earthquake, many buildings that the group deemed vulnerable actually collapsed.