‘Lodos’ storm badly damages Bursa’s disaster preparedness center

Cihan News Agency

Turkey’s first ever Disaster Preparedness Training and Cooperation Center, in the northwestern province of Bursa’s Yıldırım district, has been badly damaged by the “Lodos” storm that has hit the country in recent days.
 
Severe winds of up to 129 km/h winds wreaked havoc across Bursa, with the roofs of an estimated 306 buildings being ripped off, and trees and signboards toppling over. Ironically, one of the buildings that saw the worst damage was the Disaster Preparedness Training and Cooperation Center, the front outer walls of which were partially damaged. Its rear section was completely torn apart, exposing the brickwork underneath.

The complex cost a total of 15 billion Turkish Liras, and was officially opened in August 2013 with a ceremony attended by then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as former ministers Erdoğan Bayraktar and Beşir Atalay.

The building process of the center was financed by the State Planning Organization and the Special Provincial Administration. The two-story building includes 12 simulation rooms, an earthquake vibratory table unit, a wreck corridor, a fire simulation area, a 5-D cinema, simulation rooms for landslides, floods, storms, winds and smoky conditions, as well as a simulation area for carbon monoxide poisoning.