Are buildings built in Azerbaijan earthquake resistant?Are buildings built in Azerbaijan earthquake resistant?

Baku/09.02.23/Turan: On February 6, we witnessed the destruction of many buildings as a result of two earthquakes of magnitude over 7 that occurred during the day in southeast Turkey. Of course, the destruction of buildings caused a great  number of victims and concern among the citizens of Azerbaijan. Are high-rise buildings built in Baku, which has experienced a construction boom of the last 20 years, and in some cities of Azerbaijan, earthquake-resistant?

In this regard, Elnur Farzaliyev, an expert on property issues, answers our questions.

Meanwhile, as a result of a devastating earthquake in southern Turkey, the death toll exceeded 12 thousand people, more than 62 thousand were injured. Searches and extraction of people from under the ruins continue, it is possible that the number of victims will grow.

Azerbaijani Shabnam Karsli, who lives in Turkey and participates in relief actions as a volunteer, talks about rescue operations and assistance actions in the areas affected by the earthquake in the program “Difficult Question”.

According to her, the real number of dead and wounded exceed the officially confirmed figures.

“Unfortunately, because of the roads badly damaged by the earthquake, rescue teams cannot reach small settlements. The scale of the disaster is still unknown, but it is clear that they are larger than we could imagine. In addition, the weather conditions are extremely unfavorable. It is very cold and there are already deaths from hypothermia. People are in a panic. Everyone blames (often unreasonably) the authorities for inaction. However, it is obvious that there are problems of coordination of actions,” Karsli said.

What do the residents of the disaster-affected regions of Turkey need most of all, the volunteer said that first? She said that all people need generators, gas heaters, tents, sports mats, lanterns (especially miners' headlamps).

According to Elnur Farzaliyev, the tragedy in Turkey showed that only a few buildings withstood the shocks.

“It is noteworthy that next to the building that withstood the impact of the elements, there were buildings that turned into ruins. This indicates the low quality of these buildings. Many buildings literally crumbled to dust, as if they were not built of concrete and steel reinforcement. Obviously, the main cause of the tragedy is the illegal actions of the builders and the absence of control over them,” he said.

According to Farzaliyev, the quality of buildings erected in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan in recent years is much higher than in Turkey. –0--