🏗️ İzmir Earthquake Preparedness 2026: Urban Renewal, Buildings and Vulnerable Areas

المسافر · Sep 9, 2026

An aerial view of rescue operations beside damaged buildings, with heavy equipment on site.

Rescue teams working among the rubble of a collapsed building.

Rescuers wearing helmets and protective equipment amid rubble.

Information last updated: September 2026

The earthquake of 30 October 2020 brought building safety and ground conditions back to the top of İzmir's agenda. In 2026, earthquake preparedness involves a wider programme of building surveys, ground investigations, earthquake and tsunami scenarios, urban renewal and a comprehensive earthquake master plan.

What is İzmir doing in 2026?

İzmir Metropolitan Municipality is working with universities and scientific organisations on several parallel programmes:

Surveying and documenting the existing building stock.
Microzonation studies to establish local ground conditions.
Investigating active faults in and around İzmir.
Developing earthquake and tsunami scenarios for coastal areas.
Continuing urban renewal and neighbourhood regeneration projects.
Preparing İzmir's new earthquake master plan, the Deprem Master Planı.

Municipal figures published in February 2026 reported preliminary surveys of around 96,000 buildings in Bayraklı and Bornova, with fieldwork also completed for approximately 22,500 buildings in Karşıyaka.

What did the building surveys find?

Earlier preliminary screening identified 2,830 buildings in Bornova and 1,014 in Bayraklı as higher priorities for detailed assessment than other buildings surveyed.

This does not mean that all these buildings have been formally classified as dangerous or must be demolished. Preliminary screening helps determine priorities. Establishing the condition of an individual building requires detailed engineering assessment through the appropriate procedures and competent organisations.

Ground conditions are one part of the picture

One lesson from 2020 is that damage depends on more than earthquake magnitude. Soil type, sedimentary basin effects, building age, concrete and reinforcement quality, subsequent alterations and structural design all interact.

Extensive microzonation work in Bornova covered approximately 7,000 hectares, with 1,375 boreholes and around 32,000 tests on soil and rock samples. In May 2026, work moved towards a further phase covering approximately 4,000 hectares in Konak and Bayraklı, alongside investigations in Karşıyaka.

What does a more vulnerable area mean?

An entire district cannot sensibly be labelled safe or dangerous. Detailed studies focus particularly on places where soft ground or deep sediments coincide with dense development and older buildings.

Bayraklı: severe damage was concentrated here in 2020, prompting early building-stock surveys.
Bornova Basin: detailed investigations examine ground characteristics and the basin's effect on shaking.
Karşıyaka: building and ground surveys have expanded, including low-lying areas near the gulf.
Konak: included in the new microzonation programme in 2026.
Çiğli and other areas around the gulf: considered within the wider, evolving risk-assessment and urban-planning programme.

For a housing decision, the individual building and plot matter more than the neighbourhood name alone.

Where is urban renewal taking place?

Projects include Örnekköy, Uzundere, Ege Mahallesi, Aktepe–Emrez, Ballıkuyu and Güzeltepe. The Örnekköy project in Karşıyaka covers around 18 hectares and approximately 1,290 existing structures. The municipality's August 2026 update reported agreements with around 98% of rights holders.

The Ege Mahallesi project in Konak covers approximately seven hectares and 809 independent units, with agreement and implementation stages continuing. Urban renewal can encompass redesigned streets, infrastructure, housing and public facilities as well as replacement of buildings.

İzmir's earthquake master plan

The municipality is working with Dokuz Eylül University and İzmir Institute of Technology on the new Deprem Master Planı. It brings together information on buildings, ground conditions, faults, tsunamis, infrastructure and population to establish:

Priority areas and buildings.
Potential loss scenarios.
Evacuation and emergency requirements.
Priorities for urban renewal and stronger infrastructure.
Safer future land use.

Completion during 2026 was an announced target; a target date should not be treated as confirmation that the plan has been completed.

Before buying or renting a flat

Go beyond asking the landlord whether a building is earthquake resistant. Check:

Its construction date and original permissions.
The Yapı Ruhsatı building permit and İskan occupancy permission.
Later alterations to ground-floor premises, columns or walls.
The site's ground-investigation report, where available.
Any previous screening or detailed assessment.
Whether a specialist engineering assessment is needed where structural safety is in doubt.

DASK compulsory earthquake insurance is not, by itself, proof that a building has passed a structural inspection or is earthquake resistant.

Personal preparedness matters too

Secure heavy furniture, identify emergency assembly areas, prepare essential supplies and learn how to isolate gas, water and electricity when necessary. The nearest Afet ve Acil Durum Toplanma Alanı, or disaster and emergency assembly area, can be checked through e-Devlet.

Overview

İzmir is expanding the scientific evidence used to manage earthquake risk: surveying buildings, investigating the Bornova Basin and other districts, renewing urban areas and preparing a citywide master plan. These are complementary parts of a continuing programme.

Assess the ground, the building and its construction history together; a neighbourhood name alone cannot establish housing safety.

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🏗️ İzmir Earthquake Preparedness 2026: Urban Renewal, Buildings and Vulnerable Areas

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