It is estimated that the 7.5 magnitude destructive earthquake expected in Istanbul will create 25 million tons of debris. In order to remove 25 million tons of debris, an average of 1 million trips by trucks is required. It has been calculated that it will take 3 years to remove the debris that will occur in Istanbul after the devastating earthquake with the available facilities.
According to the news of Özlem Güvemli from SÖZCÜ; IMM Directorate of Earthquake and Soil Investigation carried out the study of “Creating Management Plan Bases for Debris that May Occur in a Potentially Destructive Istanbul Earthquake”.
Within the scope of the study, when road closure analyzes, machinery-equipment inventory and casting fields capacities are taken into account, the negativities that may be encountered in the event of a disaster were determined.
A frightening picture emerged in the study, which was prepared to lead the creation of an action plan for the management of the debris foreseen in a possible devastating Istanbul earthquake.
According to the study, the waste dump sites are located in the north of Istanbul, while the structures that are expected to suffer the most severe damage are located in the south.
And this reveals the trouble to be experienced in transporting the debris. Therefore, in the preliminary study, it was stated that Istanbul needed a "Debris Management Action Plan".
NOT ENOUGH MACHINES
In a possible earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5, 25 million tons, that is, 10 million cubic meters of debris, will emerge.
In order for the debris to be transported to the dump sites, approximately 10 million trips are required for a truck with a volume of 12-1 cubic meters.
According to the data of IMM Road Maintenance Directorate, the number of trucks allocated for debris is 228. With the possibility that a truck can make 4 trips a day, 912 trips can be made per day.
Considering that the 1 million expeditions required for the removal of the wreckage, 912 expeditions per day, can be carried out in a total of 96 days, that is, approximately 3 years, it has been determined that there is not enough machinery.
THERE IS SPACE BUT…
There is currently about 20 million cubic meters of free space in the foundries, but in the study, it was pointed out that although the foundries seem sufficient for now, the adequacy of the foundries will become a big problem for Istanbul in time due to the acceleration of urban transformation activities and the lack of recycling facilities.
MORE TO BE SEEN IN THESE DISTRICTS
According to the study, road closures will be seen more in Fatih, Zeytinburnu, Bahçelievler, Bakırköy, Küçükçekmece districts on the European side.
It was emphasized that in order to remove the building debris, the debris overflowing on the roads should be removed first and the roads should be kept open all the time.
It was stated that transportation by sea should be planned for the debris that may occur in the Adalar district.
CAN BE SPILLED IN PITCHES ON THE SEA BOTTOM
Other findings made in the study are as follows:
- There are 4 casting areas in total, 3 on the European side and 7 on the Anatolian side.
- The distance from the districts where the damage estimates are very heavy to the nearest dumping site is 20-25 km for the European Side and 25-30 km for the Anatolian Side.
- Before the debris is removed and stored, geomedical measures should be taken, asbestos removal operations and radioactivity investigations should be carried out.
- In case the highway is closed at the time of the disaster or the dumping sites on land are insufficient, it should be planned to transport the wreckage wastes by sea and dump them into the pits on the seafloor if the dumping criteria are met.
- In order to ensure the transportation of the wrecks by sea, ferry-type vessels should be designed to be used in the transportation of the wreckage and should be kept ready in the event of a disaster.