Tornado Disaster in Antalya's Kepez: Four People Lost Their Lives

The tornado disaster in Antalya's Kepez district tore apart two containers, toppled a tower crane, and killed four workers. The incident has brought the safety of temporary structures and the impacts of climate events back into the spotlight.

In the tornado disaster that occurred in Antalya's Kepez district, two containers at a construction site were torn apart and a tower crane collapsed. While four people lost their lives in the incident, footage from the site revealed the scale of the disaster.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Doğukan Doğu Yavaşlı stated that while a tornado is a hazard in itself, deaths occur depending on the conditions and locations in which people live. Yavaşlı emphasized that surrounding sturdy structures remained standing, whereas the victims lost their lives because they were in unanchored lightweight structures along a narrow path.

Container Cities in the Earthquake Zone

The deaths of workers caught in unanchored containers in Antalya brought temporary living spaces in the earthquake zone to mind. According to information based on AFAD data provided by CHP Hatay MP Nermin Yıldırım Kara, there are currently 90 container cities in Hatay, housing approximately 55,000 people.

Güney Oruç, who has been living in a container in Samandağ since May 2023, expressed complaints about the current conditions, stating that they are struggling with extreme heat, storms, and floods.

Course of Tornado Events in Turkey

According to research published in 2022 by Sema Özen Bayraktar and Prof. Dr. İhsan Çiçek, the number of tornadoes in Turkey has increased in recent years. While 520 tornadoes were recorded in the 2000-2020 period, 178 of them occurred in Antalya. The research and experts state that there has been an increase in records after 2009, but the link between the climate crisis and tornadoes is not yet definitive, and Turkey needs a regular monitoring system.