An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale rocked the eastern province of Van in Turkey yesterday, Sunday, October 23, 2011, killing at least 264 people according to the latest report presented Monday by the Interior Minister of Turkey, Idris Naim Sahin. The disaster also caused a lot of damage, destroying several villages near the epicenter.

 The buildings in these villages, most of which are built of adobe (mud brick and straw dried in the sun) with flimsy materials and often without regard to standards of security, did not resist the power of the earthquake. These buildings are more vulnerable to earthquakes and were the first to be devastated in villages near Van, collapsing in the first shocks.

 Turkey, which is crossed by several fault lines, experiences frequent earthquakes. Two earthquakes in the northwestern regions of the country took more than 20,000 lives in August and November, 1999, and experts are agreed that the region of  Istambul is at risk of a strong, future earthquake. 

OSMOS, the inventor of structural monitoring, offers a convergence of advanced control techniques, adapted to the problems of earthquakes. Indeed, OSMOS technology is able to continuously characterize the vibrational, elastic and evolving properties of a structure.  When installed on a structure, the technology helps understand its true state of health and identify the warning signs of any failure. Placed on structures as a precautionary measure, in the event of an earthquake, the technology permits a precise evaluation of the serviceability of the structures concerned, regardless of their outward appearance!

Thus, it becomes possible to anticipate the risk of collapse for structures that appear safe or, on the other hand, to certify as sound any structures that appear degraded.