In the Çiğli district of İzmir, Turkey, a major landslide crisis linked to the Harmandalı Regular Solid Waste Storage Facility has been escalating since 2013, with damage accelerating over time
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Summary
In the Çiğli district of İzmir, Turkey, a major landslide crisis linked to the Harmandalı Regular Solid Waste Storage Facility has been escalating since 2013, with damage accelerating over time. The landslides, caused by pressure from the waste facility and groundwater effects, have created massive fissures in the Cumhuriyet and Harmandalı neighborhoods, destroying roads, causing meters of ground displacement, and damaging or destroying homes. At least 14 houses have been destroyed, creating hardship for approximately 1,800 people, and homes have been evacuated in stages due to threats to life and property. Despite warnings from experts and local officials, including former neighborhood headman Dursun Ali Kazar who has raised the issue since 2006, calls for urgent drainage and a halt to waste dumping have gone unheeded, with authorities accused of ignoring the problem. The situation has drawn comparisons to past disasters in Ümraniye and Erzincan, highlighting the failure to implement preventative measures.
★ Why It Matters
This event highlights a critical failure in environmental management and urban safety, where long-standing warnings about infrastructure-induced geological hazards were ignored, leading to the destruction of a community. It underscores systemic issues in regulatory oversight, disaster prevention, and governmental accountability in responding to environmental risks that directly threaten citizens' lives and homes.