A regional field study on employment problems caused by earthquakes in organized industrial zones

OpenAlex İngilizce

This study addresses the limited enterprise-level evidence on how workforce mobility, living conditions, and production continuity interact in industrial areas after a major disaster. It examines the effects of the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes on employment and production continuity in Organized Industrial Zones (OIZs) in Adıyaman, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, and Malatya, four of the provinces most severely affected. A qualitative multiple-case field study used criterion-based purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews with owners or authorized representatives of 214 enterprises: 50 in Adıyaman, 41 in Hatay, 50 in Kahramanmaraş, and 73 in Malatya. Interview accounts were interpreted together with field observations and descriptive eye-tracking material. The findings show that employment and production disruptions reflected not only physical damage but also workforce migration, housing shortages, transportation and infrastructure problems, and limited access to skilled labor. Although these pressures were shared, their relative importance differed across provinces. Workforce retention and return therefore depend on restoring employment opportunities alongside housing, transport, and social living conditions. The study proposes a flexible, province-sensitive OIZ planning framework integrating structural, human, operational, institutional, and social resilience.