There are two Turkish towns, Erzin and Nurdağı, located on almost the same distance away from the epicentre of earthquakes that took place in early February this year.

The town of Nurdağı, with population about 17 thousand before the disaster, will be totally demolished and rebuilt, following the resolution of the Turkish authorities. It suffered most, with 100 per cent of buildings not subject to recovery.

However, the town of Erzin suffered no loss at all. With the population of 41 thousand, there were no deaths or injuries. Only little damage occurred to a few houses.

The reason for this “miracle” is a total ban placed on illegal construction in the town. It is a part of policy led by Ökkeş Elmasoğlu, the town major, who is now deemed a hero.

According to Channel 24, Mr. Elmasoğlu does not consider either his actions to be heroic, or the fact that the town survived to be a miracle, since he is sure that he was simply doing what he was supposed to do: ensuring compliance with construction laws and standards.

This example once again illustrates the need for high-quality legal and technical regulation of construction and the importance of high legal awareness and good faith of all its participants.