AFAD plans to expand response efforts with military, police support

ANKARA

The head of Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) has announced plans to bolster the country's earthquake response capabilities, with the army, gendarmerie and police set to assemble efforts in the debris-stricken areas.

"We have a search and rescue team of 35,000 people, including non-governmental organizations, but this is not enough. We started working to establish a team of 100,000 people," Okay Memiş told daily Hürriyet.

AFAD's own current search and rescue team comprises 2,900 individuals, and he also revealed plans to increase this number to 8,000 in the near future.

Memiş acknowledged that past earthquake responses had exposed deficiencies and shortcomings, prompting the need for a more robust response team. "In the last earthquake, we had difficulty in the first response to the disaster, we had shortcomings, we realized this. We need to increase the number of search and rescue," he noted.

To achieve the target of 100,000 personnel, Memiş outlined a plan that involves closer collaboration with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), the gendarmerie and the police. "TSK will be ready when a disaster occurs. Our gendarmerie and police will be ready... We will provide them with material support and provide training through AFAD," he elaborated.

In addition to military and law enforcement personnel and non-governmental organizations, the response team will also include miners.

Memiş emphasized the importance of being better prepared for earthquakes and learning from past experiences. "We now have an experience, albeit a bitter one. We have learned by experience where we are lacking, what can be done, what can happen. No matter how big the earthquake is, we need to find solutions," he remarked.

The AFAD head also provided updates on the aid efforts for earthquake victims in the country's south and the current situation in the affected region.

Out of the 115 billion Turkish Liras ($4.19 billion) pledged during a nationwide support campaign, 85.6 billion liras ($3.12 billion) had been deposited, he disclosed. Additionally, a total of 118.6 billion liras ($4.32 billion) had been collected for earthquake victims beyond the campaign. Of this, 57.7 billion liras ($2.1 billion) has already been expended in the earthquake-stricken areas.

Currently, there are 188,868 containers in 347 container cities housing around 600,000 earthquake victims, Memiş also informed.