Thousands of Buildings Collapsed in One Turkish City. Thousands More May Have to Come Down.

Aerial imagery from the Turkish government shows astonishing destruction in Antakya near where a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck on Feb. 6. The damage is so profound that officials estimate that 80 percent of the city’s remaining buildings will need to be demolished.

About 3,100 buildings collapsed in Antakya, trapping residents and killing more than 20,000 people in the city, Lutfu Savas, the metropolitan mayor, said on Feb. 19.

Before the earthquake, multistory apartment buildings filled the more modern part of Antakya on the west side of the Asi River. Most were built in the 20th century, largely before modern earthquake codes were put in place.

Experts think several factors made Antakya’s buildings more vulnerable, including poor building design and dense housing, as well as the city's proximity to a fault and position along the river.

“All the soil near the river is sediment, the materials carried by the river over thousands of years,” said Mehmet Cemal Genes, an associate professor of engineering at Eastern Mediterranean University. “It is very soft.”

Soft soil can amplify an earthquake’s effects, causing even greater damage. Many buildings between the July 15 Park and the river collapsed. Tents sheltering survivors now fill the park.

Antakya experienced more severe ground motion than other cities, according to Bogazici University researchers. It was intense enough to damage even well constructed buildings.

“Many buildings might be standing, but there will be some that have heavy damage,” said Ayse Hortacsu, the director of projects for the Applied Technology Council who surveyed the earthquake damage in several cities.

A major effort to modernize and reform Turkey’s seismic code was undertaken in 1998, but many buildings in Antakya were built before the update.

Some new buildings that were supposed to be earthquake-safe collapsed, bringing attention to shoddy construction practices.

One residential complex, Guclu Bahce, opened in 2019 with much fanfare and was marketed for its construction quality. Four of the complex’s five buildings collapsed. Two collapsed during the initial quakes on Feb. 6, and the other two fell during a smaller quake on Feb. 20, after this aerial imagery was captured.

Experts said there were many reasons — and not the same ones for every building — that thousands of buildings across the city collapsed while others standing just feet away remained intact, allowing residents to escape.

Many buildings had been damaged by previous smaller earthquakes and had not been properly reinforced since then.

Shallow foundations and ground-floor retail, where more open floor plans weaken the structure, made buildings vulnerable as well. And experts agree that the shaking was powerful enough to severely damage even strong buildings.

Across the river is the oldest part of Antakya, the heart of the ancient trading center founded in 300 B.C.

In the old city, where centuries-old mosques, churches and a synagogue all stood within a few blocks of one another, there was also widespread destruction.

The historical buildings’ lower height means damage is not always as clear in aerial imagery. But even among buildings still standing, deep cracks and profound structural damage mean many will need to be demolished.