The Turkish Cypriot architectural chamber on Thursday expressed their concern over the 2.7 magnitude earthquake which struck the Trikomo area in northern Cyprus at 8:19pm on Wednesday evening.

“Although small in magnitude, [the earthquake] was recorded in the most densely populated area in the north,” said the president of the Turkish Cypriot chamber of architects Onur Olguner.

Olguner voiced concern about building safety and the level of disaster preparedness in the area, emphasising the need for thorough inspections throughout the construction process of new buildings.

“You cannot measure the value of human life in money,” he added. 

He called for the implementation of a law to regulate building material standards, reduced bureaucracy and increase expertise of architects and engineers, as well as the renovation of “public buildings”, to ensure the area was prepared for earthquakes in the future.

This, he said, included buildings constructed before the 1999 earthquake which needed to be renovated to prepare them for disasters.