Earthquake-Proof Istanbul

Mechanical Engineering, Apr 2008 by Thilmany, Jean

ISTANBUL IS AT HIGH RISK in the event of an earthquake. Now Turkish officials have teamed with Purdue University engineers to offer a bold proposal: Build a second city.

The new city would offer residents of the old one a refuge and emergency services should an earthquake strike, said Mete Sozen, a Purdue civil engineering professor.

With some cities around the world at risk from rising ocean waters caused by global climate change, building cities in new locations may become common in coming decades, Sozen said.

Many buildings in Istanbul weren't constructed to withstand earthquakes and the city itself isn't well designed for such a catastrophe. Streets are narrow and winding, and would quickly fill with debris after an earthquake, preventing aid from reaching those who are trapped or injured, Sozen said.

The new city, as envisioned by Sozen and his team, features strong buildings and wide streets. It would take advantage of earthquake-proof building techniques and incorporate modern technologies like electronic locks and video communication, Sozen added.

To give Turkish officials a feel for the proposed city, the Purdue researchers created a 3-D fly-through animation showing what it would look like. To animate the huge data file, they turned to TeraGrid, an open-science computing grid comprising the computing capabilities at 11 research institutes, including Purdue.

This section was written by Associate Editor Jean Thilmany.