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Tempting fate: Istanbul's earthquake dilemma

Emily Wither reports from Istanbul on the threat of an earthquake striking the city and the challenge of making it safe.

Millions of residents living in Istanbul face the dilemma of whether or not to find out if the buildings where they live are resilient to earthquakes. Many cannot afford to do anything about it even if they are unsafe. A year on from the earthquakes in south-east Turkey that killed over 53,000 people, it is clear poorly built homes, hospitals and hotels that collapsed within seconds contributed to the high death toll. There are warnings that a similar fate awaits Istanbul, where scientists predict a major earthquake could strike any day now. Emily Wither looks at the challenges facing Europe鈥檚 biggest city and discovers a story of politics, poor urban planning and a struggle to find safe housing as Istanbul risks a man-made catastrophe.

Producers: Caroline Bayley and Zeynep Bilginsoy
Editor: Penny Murphy
Sound engineer: Sarah Hockley
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

(Photo: Aerial view of Istanbul, 20 March 2023. Credit: Erdem Sahin/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

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27 minutes

Last on

Sun 18 Feb 2024 16:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 02:32GMT
  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 09:32GMT
  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 13:32GMT
  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 20:06GMT
  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 21:06GMT
  • Sat 17 Feb 2024 22:32GMT
  • Sun 18 Feb 2024 16:06GMT

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