Turkish banks are preparing themselves for a major earthquake.. What's the story?

2024-08-19 2024-08-19T20:04:27Z

Arab Weather - Banks in Turkey are preparing to face the possibility of a major earthquake by implementing a comprehensive emergency plan that covers all possible scenarios. This plan includes establishing alternative departments in other cities and strengthening infrastructure, especially in the digital field.

For example, Turkey’s Denizbank just finished building a tower in Istanbul a few months ago and is now looking for properties elsewhere in Turkey, according to Bloomberg. In addition, Turkey’s central bank has moved some of its staff to Ankara.

Possibility of an earthquake in Istanbul

Geologists warn of the possibility of an earthquake in Istanbul, a city of 16 million people located north of the North Anatolian Fault, a seismically active area. Istanbul is a vital center of Turkey’s economy, containing 40 percent of the country’s industrial facilities, and is visited by some 17 million tourists annually.

Turkey has learned lessons from the Kahramanmaraş earthquake that struck the southeast of the country in 2023 and killed about 50,000 people.

Warnings of a possible major earthquake in Istanbul also brought to mind the disaster that struck the Gölcük region in northwestern Turkey on August 17, 1999, when a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck. Known as the “Great Marmara Earthquake,” the quake killed 18,373 people, injured 48,901, destroyed thousands of homes, displaced many residents, and generated tsunami waves two and a half meters high in the Sea of Marmara.