IHH Disaster Management Presidency’s Drill
In order to be prepared for possible disasters and to continuously improve the operational capabilities of the search and rescue team, the IHH Disaster Management Presidency organized a large-scale exercise in 6 regions and 35 stations across Turkey. In this context, the exercise was coordinated from the IHH Emre Yerli Disaster Management and Logistics Center in Tuzla. A total of 1,100 search and rescue volunteers from 53 provinces participated in the exercise.
Scenarios and Studies
The scenario of the exercise was based on a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred on the North Anatolian Fault Line off the coast of the Marmara Sea. According to this scenario, as a result of this earthquake that affected the entirety of Istanbul, volunteers conducted search and rescue operations in representative areas where there were 125,000 severely, 169,000 moderately and 206,000 lightly damaged houses. In the exercise, where the number of people left out in the open was determined as 1,217,000 and the number of tents needed was determined as 294,000, volunteers encountered various scenarios in nature, water and the city.
Statements by the Governor of Istanbul
Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, who attended the drill program, wished God’s mercy upon those who lost their lives in the August 17 Marmara Earthquake in his statement. Gül emphasized that disasters are a fact of life and said, “Different disasters, large and small, occur all over the world. We need to be prepared for these disasters, especially with preventive measures.”
Gül stated that AFAD coordinates the pre- and post-disaster period and said, “AFAD’s power is limited. In this sense, the contribution of our civil society organizations, our citizens and everyone living in our country is needed.” Gül stated that the fourth IHH exercise was carried out and that this situation showed institutionalization.
The Importance of Volunteering
Governor Gül emphasized that volunteering in disasters requires not only good will, but also discipline, knowledge and professionalism. “Sometimes, when responding to a wreck, an intervention you make with good intentions can cost the life of the person you want to save. “In this respect, it is very valuable for the IHH and similar organizations to increase their numbers and conduct drills,” he said.
Resilient Buildings and Urban Transformation
Stating that citizens also have important duties in terms of disaster preparedness in terms of the construction of sturdy buildings, Gül said, “We need buildings that will not collapse. For this, we need to do our job well.” Noting that there are sturdy buildings in Istanbul, as in every part of Turkey, Gül said, “Approximately 500 thousand buildings need to undergo urban transformation.”
Gül emphasized that citizens should support urban transformation efforts, saying, “If they think that the building that needs to be rebuilt will only be built by the state and delivered to them, there is no chance of this happening. The support of our Ministry of Environment and Urbanization is clear. Therefore, our citizens need to renew their homes by knowing the existing support and adding to it.”
Assessment by IHH Chairman Bulent Yildirim
IHH General President Bülent Yıldırım stated that they, as IHH, made great efforts and undertook important tasks during the Marmara Earthquake. Yıldırım stated that they carried out search and rescue operations in collapsed buildings in regions such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Kashmir and that their experience was important in this sense.
“A great deal of experience was gained on February 6th. That day was like a drill for the Istanbul earthquake. We saw everyone’s cooperation and the solidarity of the people,” said Yıldırım, emphasizing the importance of the drill by saying, “Now, God forbid, we are carrying out a drill to understand what we can do if we encounter such an earthquake in Istanbul .”
