Imamoglu: We built ourselves coffins in Istanbul

"The problem is that we did not build buildings for ourselves, we built coffins, and today we are suffering," said Istanbul City Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu during a visit to the earthquake-stricken city of Antakya in southern Turkey. Referring to a possible earthquake in Istanbul, he said he wished he could tell the people of Istanbul that they could sleep well at night. But he can not.

In a television interview with Halk TV, Imamoglu said:

"Istanbul residents felt the 1999 earthquake very strongly and lived with it. Now 23-24 years have passed. Since then, many steps have been taken and many roadmaps have been made. One of the first things we did was to review the existing earthquake reports and reanalyze the findings in them. I think we had a solid earthquake workshop.

“There are over 90 thousand highly damaged buildings”

"We have come to the conclusion that, unfortunately, Istanbul has not developed at the rate it should in the last 21 years. If it continues at this pace, it will take us 100 years to completely renovate or strengthen Istanbul. After 100 years, Istanbul will already have many points that need to be rebuilt. We have shared with the public the estimate that there are more than 90 thousand buildings that are severely damaged and in danger of collapse. Our search for them continues."

“In my meetings and presentations with the Ministry, I conveyed that it is imperative that the earthquake issue in Istanbul be managed from a single center, such as a commission or a council, that all parties to it should be there, The Ministry should lead this work, only speed will bring us success.”