Turkish, Chinese scholars hold seminar on post-disaster recovery

ISTANBUL, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Experts from Türkiye and China held on Tuesday a seminar on post-disaster recovery here in the Turkish megacity.

The seminar titled "Joint Turkish-Chinese International Seminar on Recovery and Reconstruction after Feb. 6, 2023, Kahramanmaras Earthquakes," was hosted by the Istanbul Technical University and attracted more than 15 experts from various Chinese universities and institutions.

"Türkiye and China are both among the countries with strong seismic activity and significant geological hazards," said Deng Wenwu, chairman of the Sichuan Post-Disaster Reconstruction Foundation of China, during the seminar.

Türkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras was hit by two major earthquakes in February, which killed more than 50,000 people and damaged a large swathe of the country.

According to Mustafa Asim Alkan, vice governor of Istanbul, the damage amounted to 9 percent of Türkiye's gross national product, and the tremors affected 14 million people in 11 provinces.

"It is vital that measures are seriously planned and implemented to minimize the damage from a possible earthquake in the coming period," said Alkan, speaking of the importance of the seminar.