1.5 Million Quake-Risky Buildings to Be Replaced in Istanbul

On Tuesday, Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said that Türkiye plans to build new buildings to replace some 1.5 million risky ones in Istanbul for possible strong earthquakes in the future.

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These residential buildings would be built in two designated areas on the Anatolian and European sides of the city. The move falls into the urban transformation project launched by the Turkish government in the quake-prone Marmara region, the country's industrial powerhouse in the northwest.

The government would also reduce the density of the constructions and strengthen industrial areas against earthquakes, Kurum noted.

Over 44,000 people have died in the recent catastrophic earthquakes in southern Türkiye, evoking public fears in Türkiye that their houses won't withstand the strong shocks.

This is not the first time Istanbul undergoes a transformation project. In the wake of the 1999 Izmit quake, the Turkish government launched a project to replace old buildings in the city.

On Tuesday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that nearly 42,000 Syrian refugees in Türkiye have voluntarily returned to their homeland following the massive earthquakes that caused tremendous destruction in the region.

Türkiye hosts nearly 3.5 million Syrian refugees who fled their country after a civil war erupted in 2011. Nearly half of the refugees have been taking shelter in southern Türkiye which was heavily hit by devastating quakes.

The Turkish government last year banned Syrian refugees with temporary protection permits to make roundtrips between the two neighboring countries to encourage a thorough return to their homeland.

The government has loosened move-around travel restrictions for refugees after the quakes, allowing them to go and stay up to six months in Syria before coming back to Türkiye.