Since tremors devastated the southeast on Feb 6, anxiety has gripped the metropolis and revived memories of a 1999 earthquake that killed 17,000 in the region.
Some 5 million of the 16 million residents of Turkey's largest city live in risky homes, official data show, given it lies just north of a faultline crossing the Marmara Sea in the northwest of the country.
Since the quake, the number of applications in Istanbul to demolish and reconstruct at risk homes - where nearly 500,000 people live - has tripled. The scramble has also exacerbated already sky-high rental housing prices. It is unclear how many people have left Istanbul in the last two months. Ali Ayilmazdir, head of a home movers' association, said 15-20 people are now calling companies to request moves each day, compared to 3-5 before the February quake.
Yet many residents say they feel trapped by a cost-of-living crisis after inflation surged to a 24-year peak above 85% in October and with fewer prospects of finding work elsewhere. "It is impossible to move to places that are said to have more solid ground because of the rising prices after the earthquake," said Nilay, who lives in the high-risk district of Avcilar by the Marmara Sea.
Some 1.5 million homes are considered at risk in the city, Urban Planning Minister Murat Kurum said this week. According to official data, an average of more than three people live in each household, meaning up to 5 million live in these properties.
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