Quake can't destroy Istanbul!

London, Jan 26: It would set many pulses racing in Istanbul as a second city is in the offing to provide refuge in the event of an earthquake.

The city, which lies just north of the North Anatolian fault, is at high risk for a devastating earthquake within the next 30 years and engineers at Purdue University and the Republic of Turkey have a solution in the form of second satellite city. The satellite city would provide immediate shelter to inhabitants of the old city in case of a catastrophic earthquake.

Purdue researchers have created a 3-D fly-through animation showing what the proposed new city would look like, Science Daily reported.

Purdue's Kettelhut Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering Mete Sozen says building a satellite city from scratch has several advantages.

''It is exciting to think about building a new city using completely new technologies,'' says the professor. It would use modern information technologies and be environmentally friendly. It would be safe, secure and modern. But more important is that this city would provide a refuge and emergency services in the event of an earthquake.'' "All of the seismic and historical evidence says a major earthquake is overdue," says Sozen, who led an international effort in 2005 to evaluate the risk of such a catastrophe.

Istanbul, a city of more than 12 million people on Turkey's northwest coast, is one of the world's ancient and historically important cities, having been the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. The city is Turkey's cultural and economic hub and is responsible for 80 per cent of the nation's economy.

UNI