Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu said, "Today, Turkey has the 2nd Largest Earthquake Watch Web of Europe. Last year, 39 thousand 287 earthquakes took place in the country. The Web recorded 19 thousand 446 earthquakes in the first 10 days of this year”.
AFAD Provincial Directors Training Meeting which was held in Sakarya with the participation of Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) Dr. Mehmet Güllüoğlu ended.
AFAD provincial directors who had spent the night at disaster tents attended various different training programs which lasted for 3 days.
Speaking during the meeting, Soylu noted that Turkey was not prepared against earthquakes in 1999 adding that;
"The 1999 earthquake caused so much pain but we also learned important lessons. Today, Turkey has 1.056 observation stations. In 1999, this figure was only 50. But, Anatolian soil has always been an earthquake zone throughout history and many pains have been experienced. So, we knew, we experienced, it was not a surprise. Due to this reason, after 2002 Turkey went through a transition especially under the auspicious of His Excellency the President. This transformation cannot be only defined with figures, hospital bed numbers. Actually, there was a serious mentality transformation. We did not invent something new; we only transformed into something that already existed in the fundamental codes of our culture which is let people live so that state will live. People should live so that they can stand next to the state with all its existence and strength.”
"AFAD has reestablished the reputation of state which was damaged in 1999”
Pointing out that Turkey has many sub plans preparing for disasters, disaster response and things to be done in the aftermath of disasters, Minister Soylu said disaster management contains 4 stages namely planning and risk reduction, preparedness, response and rehabilitation.
"Turkey has the second biggest earthquake watch web of Europe,” said Soylu adding;
"Last year, 39 thousand 287 earthquakes took place in the country. Web recorded 19 thousand 446 earthquakes in the first 10 days of this year. In addition to earthquake map, we have risk maps concerning avalanches, floods and forest fire disasters and we have taken related measures. Since, 2009 when AFAD was founded, Turkey has filled an important gap, established a moral ground and constantly developed itself and saved many lives. AFAD has reestablished the reputation of state which was damaged in 1999. Currently we have 5 thousand 947 trained staff working in 81 provincial directorates and 11 provincial directors.”
Pointing out that there are 25 logistics and 30 main centers all over Turkey, Minister Soylu stated that there are 82 thousand 823 tents, 143 thousands 172 blankets and other emergency materials in these centers in addition to total of 773 response vehicles, 1.812 search and rescue personnel, coordination truck and 103 amphibious vehicles.
“Be Prepared!”
Minister Soylu explained that AFAD did not only serve in the country but also put its signatures under global successes and went on to say the following: “Turkey by sending aid to more than 50 countries in 5 continents is in the position of a country which has sent the largest humanitarian aid to the whole world worth of 8 billion dollars in 2017 according to the 2018 global humanitarian aid report. Palestine, Somali and Sudan are the main countries that Turkey offered aid and relief.”
“If they ask me to find a slogan or say a motto for AFAD, there would be only one impression I could think which is “Be Prepared…” This is the only thing we expect from AFAD, be prepared. Prepare everything which can be included into the definition of preparedness. This is a very beautiful and valuable country but it is not an easy one. It has many opportunities and other countries keep watching us. We overcome many risks with the support of AFAD.”