An Outsider’s Perspective on Istanbul’s Emergency Planning
Denis BINDER
1. Introduction
Seven thousand years of living history prove Istanbul is a dangerous place to live, historically plagued by earthquakes, fires and pestilence.
Istanbul’s blessing and curse is being an ancient city in the modern world. It is one of the world’s greatest cities with a unique history and cultural heritage. It’s 20 million residents,1 like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo, areat great seismic risk. The natural risks to Istanbul are magnified by an exploding population crammed into unsafe housing.
Istanbul’s risks transcend the seismic to include major fire threats with its extensive wood housing and other natural hazards such as flooding,2 wildfires, landslides and tsunamis.3 Like all modern cities, it must anticipate human risks, including chemical and toxic leaks, gas explosions, shipwrecks and oil spills, such as in the Bosporus,4 acts of terrorism,5 cyber terrorism and public health risks, such as contagion