The Buildings Condition Are In Question After the Earthquake In Bodrum
Tourism heaven Bodrum that has a population surpassing 1.5 million in the summer months has suffered an earthquake of 6.6 magnitude on the night of 20th of July. Earthquake has triggered the discussions about the durability of the buildings in Bodrum.
Some like the Chairman of Sianji Group and Board Member of Bodrum Peninsula Promotion Foundation, Recai Çakır, thinks that there are more than hundred thousand buildings in Bodrum that can be categorized as buildings under risk, whereas many others oppose to these idea and reacted harshly against his such statements.
Çakır refers to the buildings that are built before 1999 when talking about the hundred thousand buildings that are risky, however these are commonly flat roof stone or white painted houses those consist of not more than two floors, and thus they are resistant against earthquakes despite being built after 1999. The buildings built before 1999 account for the half of the current houses in Bodrum and that is equal to two hundred thousand houses.
Çakır's statement also includes an estimate figure about the cost of renovation works on these said relatively old houses and it is supposedly 7.5 billion Turkish Liras. Çakır indicates that oly half of this amount should be used for housing, whereas the rest should be used for new tourism projects that will be built taking earthquakes into consideration. However, only time will tell whether Çakır and the like who wants Bodrum to be rebuilt or many local people, who do not think their two-story houses should be touched, will be right.
