Five-storey building in Samsun evacuated after soil slips beneath its foundation in heavy rain
Police in Atakum, a district of the Turkish Black Sea city of Samsun, emptied a five-storey apartment building after soil under its foundation slipped following a downpour, Anadolu Agency reported on Oct. 31. The same building saw a slide about four months ago, during excavation for a construction site in front of it.
The building stands on 5072nd Street in the Körfez neighborhood. Police went to the site after a call, moved the residents out as a precaution and sealed off the area around the block so no one could walk past, according to the agency report carried by Habertürk. The report did not mention injuries.
About four months earlier, soil also gave way during excavation for construction work directly in front of the building. At that time, the report said, sidewalks around the building cracked and a gap of about 5 cm opened between the retaining wall and the building.
The report did not say who is building next door, how deep the excavation goes, what shoring or drainage is in place, or whether engineers have examined the foundation since the summer. It also gave no date for residents to return.
The evacuation comes days after two other excavation-related failures in Turkey that we reported: a collapsed excavation wall in Istanbul's Bahçelievler district that left two apartment buildings about 10 cm lower, and a retaining wall failure that exposed the foundation of a 17-storey block in Ankara's Mamak district.
Why it matters: A dig that has already cracked sidewalks and opened a gap at the neighbor's retaining wall is a warning. Monitor adjacent foundations, keep stormwater out of the cut and fix the shoring before the rainy season starts.
Sources
- Samsun'un Atakum ilçesinde temelinde toprak kayması yaşanan bina tahliye edildiHabertürk (Anadolu Ajansı), Oct 31