Turkey offers tough lessons

The Aug 17, 1999 earthquake in Istanbul, Turkey left approximately 40,000 dead. Damages were estimated at $50 billion. Survivors of the quake blame building contractors for the collapse of several apartment buildings. Some buildings collapsed due to the erosion of the soil foundation, although the entire building was perfectly intact. Many of the collapsed structures suffered due to the poor quality of the concrete and the lack of confinement in the columns and at the beam-column joints.