GUIDE

In Turkey which is very rich in terms of cultural heritage, historical buildings show a great diversity. Due to the presence of Anatolia on an active earthquake zone, the historic buildings in our country were affected by earthquakes. Some have been damaged and repaired, others have been totally destroyed and rebuilt.

Reducing the earthquakes damage is possible by continuous maintenance and monitoring of the monuments. The long periods of lack of care, the construction activities in their surroundings weaken the historical works, make them vulnerable to damage. Many countries facing the problem of protecting the cultural heritage from earthquakes adopt the "Integrated risk management" approach, which gives equal emphasis to the work to be done before, during and after the disaster.

This guideline aims to cover the definitions of strategic, tactical and operational steps for each phase, taking into account the stages of pre-disaster risk assessment, risk reduction and preparation, emergency response during disasters and post-disaster recovery stages for the management of the risks to earthquake risk in historical buildings.

During the first intervention to the historical building damaged by the earthquake, it is proposed to identify special emergency experts in this area and to define "emergency response" processes in laws and regulations so that the interventions can be carried out without losing time.

This guide, prepared for the first time in Turkey, is planned to be updated continuously with the problems encountered in applications and new experiences. It is hoped that the scope of the guideline will be broadened with the encouragement of scientific research, research to be made and scientific contributions.