Great
Earthquakes In Diverse Places
Turkey: Last week's Earthquake renders 2,000 homes
uninhabitable
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish authorities say last week's 5.9-magnitude
earthquake has rendered more than 2,000 homes uninhabitable,
forcing nearly 7,000 people to live in tents in a western town.
Gov. Kenan Ciftci of Kutahya province said Monday that of around
16,500 buildings inspected so far by engineers, over 2,200 are
uninhabitable in Simav and its vicinity. The quake killed three
people on May 19.
Turkish authorities have been struggling to enforce stricter
building codes since two devastating earthquakes killed about
18,000 people in northwestern Turkey in 1999. Most of the deaths
were blamed on shoddy construction.
Some residents of the tent city have complained of inadequate
sanitary facilities and shortage of drinking water.