Turkey creates emergency disaster centers in all 81 provinces

ANKARA

Emergency disaster centers have been established in all of Turkey’s 81 provinces and a single radio communication line for separate institutions of disaster management in the country has been set up, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has said.

“I feel the happiness of accomplishing the impossible. We have successfully combined disaster management communication networks,” Soylu told at a meeting in the capital Ankara on Feb. 18.

Soylu recalled that police, gendarmerie and coast guards had different radio communication systems, and it took around four years to create a centralized system between these institutions.

“We are responsible for creating a communication model across the country in case of a national disaster or a country-wide risk. The Turkish Armed Forces have a model, but we thought that we should support this model with an alternative one,” Soylu said.

Recalling that a structure with the involvement of private mobile operators has already been constructed, the minister underlined the need for a strong and continuous communication system particularly in the case of a national disaster.

“A new application is being built with the participation of our operators and our ministries. It will be downloaded on smartphones,” he informed.

While emergency disaster centers have been established in the country’s all 81 provinces, the number of emergency assembly points in Istanbul has increased to more than 5,400, with around 2.85 square meters of area per person, Soylu said.