Millions of residents living in Istanbul face the dilemma of whether or not to find out if the buildings where they live are resilient to earthquakes. Many can’t afford to do anything about it even if they are unsafe. A year on from the earthquakes in southeast Turkey that killed over 53,000 people, it’s clear poorly built homes, hospitals and hotels that collapsed within seconds contributed to the high death toll. There are warnings that a similar fate awaits Istanbul, where scientists predict a major earthquake could strike any day now. For Assignment Emily Wither looks at the challenges facing Europe’s biggest city and discovers a story of politics, poor urban planning and a struggle to find safe housing as Istanbul risks a man-made catastrophe.

This post was originally published on The Documentary Podcast.