Ebrar Site Developers Deemed 'Primarily at Fault' for Collapse; Municipal Council Approved Zoning

In the aftermath of the February 6 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, the Ebrar Site, a symbol of the disaster, saw 18 blocks collapse, killing at least 1,480 people. Lawsuits are ongoing for each collapsed block.

A recent expert report on Block K, where 76 people died, identified not only the contractor and relevant municipal departments but also "the units responsible for opening the area for construction without necessary soil research and precautions" as "primarily at fault." The report also stated that the required soil survey was not conducted at the time.

In response to an inquiry via CİMER (the Turkish Presidential Communications Center), the Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality's Planning Branch Directorate initially stated that zoning plans are prepared according to current legislation, with input from relevant institutions and geological-geotechnical survey reports. They deferred the assessment of responsibility for opening the area to construction to the judicial authorities.

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İmar planları mer'i mevzuat hükümleri doğrultusunda ilgili kurum görüşleri ve imar planına esas jeolojik-jeoteknik etüt raporları esas alınarak hazırlanmaktadır. İlgi başvurunuzda yer alan '...imar açılmasından sorumlu birimlerin' de 'asli kusurlu' olduğu tespit edilmişti. Raporun sonuç bölümünde de ilgili tarihte olan zemin etüdünün yapılmadığı belirtilmişti.

A subsequent response clarified that the zoning plans for the Ebrar Site area were approved and enacted by the former Kahramanmaraş Municipal Council before the municipality gained metropolitan status on March 30, 2014. The municipality reiterated that the evaluation of responsibility for those who approved the zoning plans falls within the purview of the judicial authorities.

Fatma Irmak, who lost relatives at the Ebrar Site, criticized the municipality's response. She emphasized that the approval of zoning plans by the municipal council directly indicates their decision-making role in allowing construction in the area. Despite technical reports and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Plan (İRAP) highlighting the region's alluvial soil structure and high risk of severe damage and collapse in a major earthquake, dense construction was permitted. Irmak argued that this decision is a primary reason for the devastating destruction, which claimed approximately 1,480 lives at the Ebrar Site alone.

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Bu açıklama, Ebrar Sitesi'nin bulunduğu alanın yapılaşmaya açılmasında belediye meclisinin doğrudan karar merci olduğunu göstermesi bakımından önemlidir. Oysa yıllar boyunca hazırlanan teknik raporlarda ve deprem öncesinde kamuoyuyla paylaşılan İRAP (İl Afet Risk Azaltma Planı) raporlarında, bölgenin alüvyon zemin yapısına sahip olduğu, olası büyük bir depremde ağır hasar ve yıkım riski taşıdığı açıkça ortaya konulmuştur. Buna rağmen söz konusu bölgede yoğun yapılaşmaya izin verilmiş olması, bugün yaşadığımız büyük yıkımın en önemli nedenlerinden biri olarak değerlendirilmelidir.