Outdated Building Methods, Contributed to Devastation of Quakes , in Turkey and Syria.<br />NPR reports that thousands of buildings were <br />reduced to rubble when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake <br />struck Turkey and northern Syria on February 6.<br />NPR reports that thousands of buildings were <br />reduced to rubble when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake <br />struck Turkey and northern Syria on February 6.<br />According to civil engineer Jonathan Stewart, <br />the widespread devastation is similar to another<br />major quake that struck Turkey in 1999.<br />According to civil engineer Jonathan Stewart, <br />the widespread devastation is similar to another<br />major quake that struck Turkey in 1999.<br />Stewart, an engineering professor at the University of <br />California, Los Angeles, was part of an infrastructure <br />inspection team dispatched to Turkey at the time.<br />Stewart, an engineering professor at the University of <br />California, Los Angeles, was part of an infrastructure <br />inspection team dispatched to Turkey at the time.<br />According to Stewart, the 1999 disaster <br />resulted in "tremendous loss of life <br />from pancaked buildings.".<br />That earthquake left over 17,000 people <br />dead, many who died in collapsing <br />buildings as they fled for their lives.<br />"Pancaking" is the sudden collapse of a multi-story <br />building, which was seen again when the February 6 <br />quake and a follow-up 7.5 magnitude tremor struck.<br />Typically, the columns and the beams are <br />concrete. And then there's kind of a masonry <br />infill block inside these frames, which falls <br />apart very quickly when the shaking begins, Jonathan Stewart, Civil engineer and engineering professor at <br />the University of California, Los Angeles, via NPR.<br />Currently, the death toll has <br />already exceeded 3,400 in Turkey, <br />with over 1,500 dead in neighboring Syria. .<br />Currently, the death toll has <br />already exceeded 3,400 in Turkey, <br />with over 1,500 dead in neighboring Syria. .<br />NPR reports that survivors may still be found beneath <br />the rubble as search and rescue efforts continue, <br />though the death toll is also expected to rise.<br />NPR reports that survivors may still be found beneath <br />the rubble as search and rescue efforts continue, <br />though the death toll is also expected to rise.<br />According to a preliminary estimate by Turkish <br />officials, approximately 3,000 buildings were <br />destroyed by the February 6 quakes.<br />According to a preliminary estimate by Turkish <br />officials, approximately 3,000 buildings were <br />destroyed by the February 6 quakes
