Warning of Turkey's shortcomings ahead of earthquake

Warnings are being ignored.

Now Turkey is recovering from powerful earthquakes that killed more than 38,000 people in Turkey and another 6,000 in northern Syria. The disaster has plunged the country into a state of deep sadness. Turkey is one of the most seismically active countries in the world and has already suffered a high cost in casualties from the quake 24 years ago.

After this earthquake

with an epicenter near the city of Izmit, building codes were improved, standards were raised, and compulsory insurance policies were introduced. Built almost overnight on the outskirts of major gecekondu cities, the houses were required to be modernized or demolished. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is now president of Turkey,''but then an energetic reformer (and former mayor of Istanbul), became a vocal critic of the government's handling of the earthquake. He and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) capitalized on the wave of popular anger and discontent over the disaster and economic situation to win victory in 2002.

Despite the promise of making Turkey more earthquake-resistant, inside sources say the privileged class of real estate developers, long a pillar of Turkey's elite, has become even more politically powerful since 1999. The pursuit of maximizing profits eventually seemed more important than public safety. Developers could buy an amnesty that officially recognized the building''compliant with the code, regardless of whether it was actually compliant. "Illegal buildings became legal," says Atlar. "The buildings weren't inspected.