Turhan, 15 July Martyrs and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges pointed out that the seismic strengthening, said:

“Reinforcement works have been carried out from the tower in order to prevent the possible damage in case of expansion of the support seat base, installation of anti-fall cables, replacement of existing supports, replacement of existing expansion joints, and the tower tower collision to be resistant to earthquake that may occur every 2 thousand 475 years. Within the scope of major repair and structural reinforcement works of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, changing the suspension ropes, strengthening the towers, strengthening the box beam end diaphragms, changing the pendulum supports, replacing the main cable clamps, changing the suspension plates, renewing and inspecting the main cable winding system. All necessary studies were carried out. In short, all of our bridges are structures that have the performance and resistance to meet the risks that may occur in the possible earthquakes that occur in the Marmara Sea.

Pointing out that giant projects such as Eurasia and Marmaray tunnels passing under the Sea of ​​Marmara are also built to be one of the safest places in the possible earthquake in Istanbul, Turhan said, “The Eurasia Tunnel is designed according to the latest international standards considering earthquake loads, tsunami effects and liquefaction. and it was manufactured. ” used expressions.

Turhan explained that the tunnel was constructed with two seismic seals according to the 7,5-magnitude earthquake that may be on the North Anatolian fault, and that the system built under the Bosphorus can continue to serve without any damage even in an earthquake that can happen every 500 years in Istanbul.

Turhan stated that 9 accelerometers along the tunnel and 3 displacement sensors, which monitor in 3 dimensions at the seismic connection points, are positioned through the built Health Monitoring System, and that the commissioned sensors are monitored from the Eurasia Tunnel Control Center 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. told.

“Early warning system was installed in the immersed tube tunnel in Marmaray”

Stating that Marmaray Tube Tunnel is the deepest underwater tunnel ever built in the world and is close to the active geological fault line, Turhan continued as follows:

“Marmaray was built with the aim of getting out of the 7,5 magnitude earthquake with zero safety risk, minimum loss of function, immersion tunnel and its joints by protecting its watertightness. Flexible earthquake joints were built in the tube tunnel to minimize load transfer at each junction between the segments and to isolate the two structures seismically. An early warning system was also installed in the immersed tube tunnel in Marmaray. The system in question was set up to prevent trains outside the tunnel from entering the tunnel during and after the earthquake, and to ensure that trains inside the tunnel are pulled to a safe location. The entrance structures of the stations were increased by 1,5 meters against the tsunami waves. As in the Eurasia Tunnel, Marmaray also has tracking systems that detect seismic movements, ie, 26 accelerometers, 13 inclinometers and 6 3D displacement sensors, and the Train Central Control System associated with the Kandilli Early Warning System. ”

“National level communication plan is used in disasters and emergencies”

Minister Turhan stated that all kinds of preparations related to the communication infrastructure have been made and continue to be done and that the national level communication plan is used in coordination with solution partners in order to ensure the continuity of communication infrastructures in disaster and emergency situations, he said.

Turhan explained that mobile base stations belonging to GSM operators, which can be provided over 40 satellites via transmitting satellites, can be used for communication in geographic areas where GSM coverage is not available in emergency situations and used when necessary, as of December 2014, “These mobile base stations are earthquake. It is actually used in the field in order to prevent communication in disasters and emergencies such as floods, avalanches and provide additional capacity. In addition, 723 satellite phones for disaster and emergency communications were purchased and 55 satellite terminals were installed. ” shared his knowledge.

“Communication capacity will be increased to 175 million at the same time”

Minister Turhan reminded that after the earthquake in Istanbul on September 26, there was a very intense search traffic both for Istanbul and the Marmara Region.

“Due to the earthquake, while a GSM operator was experiencing renovation of the technology infrastructure, there was a short access problem. However, we would like to state that such disruptions occur not only in our country but also in the whole world in these natural disaster situations. Despite this, all GSM operators were contacted and instructions were made to do whatever required, including increasing the capacity, at the point of being prepared for all kinds of communication infrastructure. A total of 3 million people have communication capacity at the same time in 118 operators. This capacity will be increased to 175 million. It is aimed to reach this capacity in a short time. ”