Source: iGA Istanbul Airport
In Hatay, one of the provinces that suffered the most after the earthquakes, described as the ‘disaster of the century’ and which have directly affected 11 provinces, efforts to heal the wounds of the disaster are continuing. iGA has been working on the installation of 350 containers to host approximately 2,100 disaster victims.
While the country is trying to heal the wounds caused by the earthquakes that centered in Kahramanmaraş, which affected 11 provinces and were described as the biggest disaster of the last century; iGA took action to build a container city to shelter disaster victims who have been left homeless in Hatay, one of the provinces most affected by the earthquake.
The 350-container city has been built on 30 acres of land next to the Hatay Provincial Gendarme Command and allocated to iGA Istanbul Airport by Hatay’s Governor’s Office, and is planned to shelter 350 families. The entire installation and hardware work on the container city has been covered by iGA, and the purpose is to host earthquake victims from March 8, after having started construction on February 13. 89 personnel and 34 construction have worked 24/7 at the container city at a great pace.
Each of the 21 square meter containers, which were shipped from Istanbul between February 20 and 26, contains furniture, showers, toilets and kitchen counters and can meet the temporary accommodation needs of a 5-6 person family. The container city will also have facilities such as dining halls, kitchens, laundry rooms, playgrounds, and prayer rooms.
“iGA Istanbul Airport is also ready for a possible Istanbul earthquake…”
Following the most devastating earthquakes of the century, all eyes have turned to a predicted Istanbul earthquake, and discussions have begun on this. In this respect, certain commentaries have been made on various media channels regarding Türkiye’s largest infrastructure project, iGA Istanbul Airport. The information provided by iGA Istanbul Planning Deputy General Manager, İsmail Hakkı Polat, suggests that the ground on which Istanbul Airport was constructed was reinforced, and all design phases were carried out in accordance with earthquake regulations.
The effects of a possible Istanbul earthquake on the planned facilities and structures of Istanbul Airport were taken into consideration during the design phases in 2015. iGA prepared the 2015 Istanbul Airport Seismic Hazard Report in collaboration with a team of national and international experts led by Emeritus Professor Mustafa Erdik, Bogazici University, Department of Earthquake Engineering, Sinan Türkkan, Earthquake Fortification Association (DEGÜDER) Chair, and Professor Dr. Atilla Ansal, Özyeğin University, Department of Civil Engineering, Founding Chair. The report in question identified the earthquake load to be used in the design of the ground and the buildings of Istanbul Airport through a site-specific seismic hazard evaluation to determine the probable effects of a possible earthquake along the fault lines.
Polat, iGA Istanbul Airport Planning Deputy General Manager, stated that iGA Istanbul Airport was designed and built with the principle of providing uninterrupted service in the event of a DD2 earthquake with a recurrence period of 475 years. “Our criteria is based on the principle that iGA Istanbul Airport would remain intact and fully operational after a predicted Istanbul earthquake. We conducted our design and construction works within the framework of our earthquake modeling in such a way that, in the event of a predicted Istanbul Earthquake, our operations will not be affected in any of our buildings, including the terminal, air traffic tower, energy center, ARFF stations, and the runway, apron, and taxiways on the air side.” stated Polat, who also underlined that the geological structure prior to building the airport was changed to accommodate the airport operations including possible earthquake effects.
Within the scope of TAMP (Turkey National Disaster Response Plan) and IRAP (Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Plan), an Earthquake Response Plan for Istanbul Airport was prepared as a result of the studies carried out with the participation of all public and private organizations operating within Istanbul Airport.