Sinkholes in Turkey - 30th April 2021

Huge sinkholes like this one are appearing in the dry plains of Turkey.

Potato farmer Tahsin Gundogdu is worried about the high number of sinkholes.

Tahsin Gundogdu: "There have always been sinkholes, but lately, these last 10-15 years, there have been more and more. The cause of this in the Konya plain is the dryness of the soil and the lack of maintenance in the surrounding area."

The number of sinkholes is increasing because the soil deep underground is too dry. This is because farmers are using water from underground for their crops. When the soil is dry underground, big spaces appear. The ground above the space is too heavy. The ground drops down.

Farmers know that this is causing problems. But they have no choice. There hasn't been much rain in Turkey recently. Water levels in reservoirs are very low. If farmers use this water for their farms, it costs too much.

Engineer Murat Akbulut is concerned about water shortages in Turkey. He has noticed that the water is going down in Beysehir Lake.

Murat Akbulut: "Currently, in our lakes, dams and groundwater, there is a significant drought. When we analyse Beysehir lake in our region which last year provided 450 million tonnes of water reserves for the (Konya) plain, in comparison to this year, the amount of water it can give is around 123 million tonnes."

Last month, President Erdogan organised a forum. He wanted to discuss Turkey's water problems. He promised to make the situation better. Farmers in Turkey are pleased their government is taking action.