TR

President Ersin Tatar heads meeting that assessed the situation and how prepared  the country is  following the earthquake  

“Our State is ready to handle every possible scenario and has in place an active, fast and dynamic  mechanism” 

President Ersin Tatar chaired a meeting at the Presidency where the situation in the country was evaluated following the earthquake measuring a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter Scale. The Alevkaya Earthquake Station recorded the earthquake as being 147km away from the station at 3.07am today.

The President called the meeting which was attended by the Head of Civil Defence Organisation Atilla Karaca, Prof. Dr. Cavit Atalar, geologist Dr. Mehmet Nejdet and Director of the Presidency Assoc. Dr. Serkan İlseven.


President Tatar underlined the importance of carrying out surveys and inspections of existing public and private buildings and structures as deemed necessary by the competent authorities. He said it is important to determine the safety and resistance of the buildings to earthquakes.


“The consolation is that there has been no loss of life, injury or damage to any property, even though the tremors were felt across all regions in the TRNC,” the President stated.


Emphasising that it is important for state institutions and organisations to cooperate fully in the face of possible aftershocks or new earthquakes, President Tatar stated: “Our State is prepared for any eventuality, and has in place an active, fast and dynamic response mechanism.” 

 



“Earthquake regulations must be strictly  followed” 


Discussions were also held in relation to the Paphos earthquake which occurred in 1953 with a magnitude of 6.1  on the Richter Scale -- which was recorded as one of the most destructive earthquakes on the island of Cyprus due to its centre being on land, where 40 people had died, and 100 injured.

President Tatar stated that he had a telephone conversation with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades in the morning after the earthquake that occurred at 3.07am and they both conveyed their mutual "best wishes" when he learned that there was no serious damage in South Cyprus. 


President Tatar stated that the island is situated in an earthquake zone – sitting on the Cyprian Arc and that tremors could occur from time to time, and he said there “have been bigger earthquakes in the past years”. He said that the regulations on the subject should be strictly followed in the construction of buildings. 


Underlining that experts warned "anything can happen at any moment", President Tatar stated that there are different ground maps for different regions of the country. “After measuring these, appropiate permits are issued by the Chambers of Architects and Engineers. This is why it is important for the regulations to be followed when buildings and structures are being constructed and strictly followed”.


President Tatar stated that he received many calls from Turkey since the early hours of the morning and that the earthquake had a great impact in the Turkish media. The head of the TRNC Civil Defence was also called by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of the Republic of Turkey, who  received information about the situation following the earthquake. The President thanked the institutions and organisations of the Republic of Turkey.