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Resilient Cities In Turkey For Sustainable
Economic Development
4. The Disasters Experienced in Türkiye, and Their Aftermath

The issues of disasters and sustainable development in Türkiye has been
included in all plans, from 7 Development Plan to 10th Development
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Plan. The concept of resilience first appeared in the 10th Development
Plan, defined as the resistance of society against disaster risks. The 11th
Development Plan, involved the concept of resilience. In this context,
resilience and endurance were investigated in terms of housing, urban
transformation and economy, under the heading, “Livable Cities, Sustainable
Environment”. The plan mentioned its objective as “ensuring that everyone,
especially those with low incomes, have access to an adequate, liveable,
durable, safe, inclusive, economically affordable, sustainable, climate change-
resistant housing with basic infrastructure services”. Disaster management
aims to construct “disaster resilient and safe settlements and to minimize
loss of life and property caused by disasters through risk mitigation
practices.” It also aims to increase public awareness against disasters, and
reducing the loss of life and property to a minimum level (The Presidency
of Türkiye, Directorate of Strategy and Budgeting, 2019: 175, 185). The
ensuing destructions resulted in many immediate and long-term effects.
Today, global climate change has increased the number and intensity of
natural disasters all around the world. Unfortunately, our country was no
exception and it suffered many natural disasters that had a profound impact
on society. In addition to the moral effects caused by the people who lost
their lives or got injured during these disasters, there was also a lot of serious
economic damage. This study, which selects the most recent and destructive
of these disasters based on chronological order, investigates the reflections
of disasters on the society and the state. Initially, the disasters were selected
based on their periods of media coverage, and the most current ones were
preferred. At this stage, in addition to the selection process, the disasters were
also prioritized according to the reliability and availability the data provided
from the relevant ministries, and a sample was provided accordingly.
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a. Elazığ Earthquake –Jan 24 , 2020
On Jan 24 , 2020, an earthquake occurred with a magnitude of 6.8. Its
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epicenter was Elazığ, Sivrice. The depth of the earthquake was calculated as
8 km, and its effects were experienced most intensely in Malatya, Pütürge and
Doğanlı, and the districts and counties of Diyarbakır. Unfortunately, 41 people
lost their lives in the earthquake, and 45 people were rescued with injuries.
As a result of the examinations made by the Ministry and relevant institutions,
it was determined that the quality of the buildings were very low in the region
where the earthquake took place, there were many buildings that did not

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