Nature Gives Warning Before an Earthquake…

The 57th session of the '1 Topic 1 Guest' event, organized by Üsküdar Üniversitesi Occupational Safety, Health, and Environmental Health Application and Research Center (ÜSGÜMER), was held online. The guest of the program was Geophysical Engineer Prof. Dr. Uğur Kaynak. Kaynak drew attention to the importance of observation before an earthquake and reminded that precursory notifications should be observed.

The 'Before an Earthquake' seminar, which covered what needs to be done during and before an earthquake, was given by Prof. Dr. Uğur Kaynak.

Prof. Dr. Uğur Kaynak: 'Precursory notifications must be observed.'

Kaynak, emphasizing the importance of observation before an earthquake, stated: 'Earthquake prediction is usually based on natural phenomena. Birds, animals, poultry, pets, nature, lakes, seas, wells, well waters, especially hot springs, and other signs are precursory notifications. These need to be observed.'

'There is no individualism in earthquake-safe construction'

Kaynak provided information on constructing earthquake-safe buildings, saying: 'Construction engineers know how to build earthquake-safe structures, but foremen don't. Or perhaps contractors don't know, so we have the right to complain. There is no individualism in earthquake-safe construction. The dominant period of the soil should not conflict with the natural period of the building. As each floor is added, the building's period increases. As the number of floors increases, the building tries to destroy itself. A building that is earthquake-safe when two-story becomes earthquake-unsafe when six-story.' He emphasized the importance of earthquake-safe buildings.

Urban transformation has become a gateway to profit in our country.

Kaynak also made assessments regarding questions about building strengthening efforts discussed recently, stating: 'Building strengthening is a subject of expertise. Unfortunately, in Turkey, when building strengthening is mentioned, only columns come to mind. This is like only planting thorns in a softened building. There are many things to be done before an earthquake, and one of them is urban transformation. It has turned into a gateway to profit here; this is not how urban transformation should be. Seismic isolators must also be used in places where communities gather, such as schools and hospitals.' He reminded about what needs to be done before an earthquake.

The event concluded after participants' questions were answered.