UBC engineering experts were among a group of researchers that visited Turkey to study the aftermath of its earthquake. Civil engineering professor Dr. Tony Yang said that preparing for an earthquake should include putting measures in place to manage the recovery process. On October 13, Dr. Yang and the Turkiye earthquake research team, including Dr. Mehrtash Motamedi and Dr. Svetlana Brzev from UBC Civil Engineering held a technical briefing at Robson Square to share their findings from the expedition and emphasize earthquake preparedness and safety measures in Canada.
Event: Experts share insights from Türkiye earthquake and implications for Canada’s disaster preparedness – UBC News, October 12
The experts, which include specialists from UBC, Engineers and Geoscientists BC and other research partners, visited Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş and other affected regions to draw lessons and parallels to earthquake risk and disaster management practices at home in B.C.
B.C. lags behind Turkey in earthquake preparedness, say experts – Burnaby Now, October 13
“I don’t think we are as vigilant as the Turkish colleagues,” said Tony Yang, a professor of [civil] engineering at the University of British Columbia who led the international team. “If this happens again, in the next minute, they are ready to handle it.”
B.C. experts went to Turkey to study its devastating earthquakes. This is their advice. – Vancouver Sun, October 15
“As a city we need to start worrying about not just safety, but what happens after an earthquake,” Yang said. “Can our bridges still be functional? Can our electricity still be running? Where are the shelters, because damage will happen, particularly to really old buildings.”
“The minimum is no longer enough.”
(VIDEO) B.C. could learn from Turkiye earthquake – CTV News Vancouver (14:30 mark), October 18
(Event Recording) Earthquake Insights Seminar: Unveiling Discoveries and Preparedness Strategies – UBC Engineering, October 18
(INTERVIEW VIDEO) What UBC researchers learned from an earthquake in Turkey – CBC (34:48 mark), October 18