119 / 156
[
] 119
T
URKEY HAS ALWAYS
been vulnerable to natural hazards of
many kinds. Its geology, topography and meteorological
conditions all contribute to this risk, where any type of
disaster leads to both material damages and high physical and
social vulnerability.
Even in recent decades, there has been excessive loss of life,
injury and damage to property. The most recent major earth-
quakes, in 1999, occurred in Turkey’s industrial heartland at a
critical economic period for the country.
Turkey lies on several active fault lines and is mainly at risk
from major earthquakes. Almost 70 per cent of the population
lives in areas at risk. Earthquakes have caused irreversible damage
to ancient sites and historical remains, which constitute some
of the most outstanding pieces of the world’s cultural heritage.
The Marmara earthquake alone caused 18,243 deaths; 48,931
injuries and 377,879 damaged houses and offices.
The Japan International Cooporation Agency (JICA) report,
Development of Disaster Management Systems and National
Strategies in Turke
y
1
identifies four distinct periods:
Pre-1944: Post-event response
– Turkey had no effective, system-
atic policies for disaster management activities (mitigation,
preparedness, response and recovery).
1944-1958: Feeble countermeasures
– As a result of devastating
earthquakes, Turkey realized the importance of legal provisions
and strategies for mitigation and preparedness activities.
1959-1999: Ministry-level responsibility for disasters and construc-
tion
– Regulations had so far stipulated mitigation, preparedness,
response and recovery activities only in relation to earthquakes
and did not include reconstruction activities. Other natural disas-
ters such as floods, landslides, fires etc. became prevalent. The
Ministry of Reconstruction and Resettlement was created, but
related laws were not successfully implemented as they were
issued in the line of basic policies for proper land-use planning,
building construction and building inspection regulations due to
social, economical and political barriers.
Post 1999: Awakening
– The huge losses from the 1999 earth-
quake forced the Government to send an urgent bill to
Parliament, allowing it to pass whatever mechanisms were
deemed necessary through the
Decree with the Force of Law
, (Law
no. 4452) to aid disaster recovery. Passed just ten days after the
earthquake, this law authorized the Government to issue decree
laws in order to quickly address the needs caused by this cata-
strophe.
Within seven months of the 1999 earthquakes, the
Government published seven new laws and 32 decrees to improve
the national disaster management system and support the needs
of earthquake stricken areas.
Recent disasters have demonstrated the importance of disaster
preparedness at every level, with the main goal of reducing the loss
of lives and livelihoods. However, recent experiences and further
studies have proved that disaster management and creating disas-
ter resilient societies can only be achieved by strong dedicated
institutional organizations combined with a culture of information
sharing, enhanced public awareness and educational capacity, and
more focused risk reduction activities.
Decree Law no. 600 was passed in 2000 with the simple aim of
filling the ‘gap of coordination’ between different actors in the multi-
sectored emergency management cycle. There are a huge number
of responsible organizations within different phases of the disaster
management cycle. Some are only assigned duties on one level,
some on multiple levels, but prior to this decree there was no overall
coordinating body in the Turkish governmental system. There were
some practical difficulties in coordinating different state organiza-
tions on a vertical level, so this crucial coordinating authority was
assigned a new agency within the Prime Ministry.
Changes since the Marmara earthquakes
In 2000 the Turkey Emergency Management General Directorate
(TEMAD) was established to foster a new understanding and
approach to disaster management.
2
A comprehensive framework
for emergency management in Turkey was established according
to the definition below, which was added to the responsibilities
of the Prime Ministry:
“To take necessary measures in order to provide effective emer-
gency management nationwide in case of earthquakes, landslides,
fires, accidents, meteorological disasters, accidents caused by
nuclear and chemical substances and population movements of
a scale that threatens national security, and to provide coordina-
tion between agencies that are part of emergency management,
such as those that are active either in precautions before emer-
gencies or in search and rescue operations during emergencies,
or in recovery and reconstruction activities after emergencies.”
The responsibilities of TEMAD are to:
• Ensure establishment of emergency management centres,
determine working principles and provide coordination
• Prepare short- and long-term plans and establish data banks
• Conduct coordination of all resources, using all available
sources where emergency management is introduced
• Encourage voluntary organizations and individuals and coor-
dinate relief operations.
TEMAD is the only national body with the sole responsibility of
coordinating emergency related agencies in different disciplines
and sectors. The agency will become fully functional on comple-
A new understanding and approach
to disaster management in Turkey
Orhan Topçu, GDEM, Turkey