Today, under the leadership of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), a simultaneous exercise will be held across the country due to the 23rd anniversary of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Düzce. At 18.57, a message will be sent to everyone across the country for the ‘Collapse-Track-Hold’ movement.
Today, the ‘Earthquake Moment Country Exercise’ will be held in 81 provinces and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus at 18.57. Noting that such an exercise will be held for the first time, AFAD President Yunus Sezer said, “This is a stage we have reached by seeing our shortcomings and reinforcing them and updating ourselves.”
GOAL AWARENESS CREATING
The exercise was planned by the Ministry of Interior and AFAD for the 23rd anniversary of the 1999 Düzce Earthquake. The aim is to raise awareness about the earthquake moment. In this context, the life-saving ‘Collapse-Track-Hold’ movement will be carried out.
SIREN SYSTEM WILL NOT BE USED
AFAD President Sezer said that the siren system will not be used in order not to create fear and panic. Disaster-related equipment and vehicles will be exhibited at AFAD headquarters and in the provinces. Participation in the exercise will be encouraged by families, students staying in dormitories, people living in the lodgings of public institutions and organizations, and those working in industrial establishments affiliated with chambers of commerce and industry.
AFAD PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES THE DETAILS
AFAD President Yunus Sezer was the guest of Hakan Çelik on CNN TÜRK. Sezer conveyed the details of the exercise to be held across Turkey today.
Sezer’s statements are as follows:
Today is the anniversary of the November 12, 1999 earthquake. It happened at 18:57. 845 of our citizens lost their lives. 1999 was a turning point for our country. First, the Marmara earthquake… On this occasion, we are making our preparations to commemorate those who lost their lives in earthquakes and disasters, to see our preparations, and to provide information on disaster awareness. All of them have a common purpose, our country is a region where disasters are high and it is an earthquake country. There are 485 active faults in our country. Every year, 24 thousand earthquakes occur in our country. The year 2022 was declared as the year of the exercise. We conducted 94 thousand 900 exercises. This is really important. We conducted exercises where we could implement new systems. We conducted field exercises. For the first time, we held drills in all our schools. We conducted drills in 4 provinces on forest fires.
This is not an instant decision. This week, the statement was made in the workshop we held with the participation of our Minister. We gave information about the 12 November exercise on TVs, radio and social media. We gave information in the Friday sermon yesterday. We sent SMS to our citizens. Last week, we gave information to all students.
3 SYSTEM WILL ACTIVATE
What will we do today? We will use our notification system. The people of the earthquake in TRNC will also participate. There will be live broadcasts in 6 provinces. We will have media platforms in Düzce, İzmir and İstanbul. Experts will carry out activities to inform our citizens. We will have a program that starts at 18:00 in the evening. During the exercise, 3 systems will be activated. SIMAS will be a vital alert notification, another will be TRT broadcast and radio and all channels will be visual communication, another will be a central announcement system; A drill notification will be made at the same time from mosque and municipality speakers. We will not use siren sounds.
EARTHQUAKE DRILL IN STUDIO
Earthquake drill was held in the studio during the live broadcast. AFAD Istanbul Regional Manager Tezcan Bucan said, “What is the first thing you will do when you think of this place as your own home? We have to turn our backs on the glass. We should stay calm when a tremor occurs. We should not run, go to the elevator or stairs. For me, the most solid point is either this chair or this chair. next to this chair. We have to get down on two knees, cover our head with one hand and hold our object with one hand. We have to hold on so that it does not move. After the shaking is over, we have to turn off all the installations. If we smell gas, we have to touch nothing. The most important thing for us is the disaster bag. The bag is at the very point of the exit. ” .
WHICH REGION IS THE BIGGEST RISK IN TURKEY?
Giving information about the earthquake map of Turkey, Geologist Prof. Dr. Naci Görür, If we look at the map in general, the red colors show where the earthquake is concentrated. In Eastern Andolu, the big color is red. The reason for this is that this region is compressed in the north-south direction. Faults occur due to compression. East Andoa is a compression zone. This has been the nature of it for 13 million years. This is the characteristic of our geography. This is the earthquake zone. Earthquakes occur constantly due to compression. Earthquake is not always a single benefit. There are many faults here,” he said.
“THIS IS MAKING US VERY CONCERNED”
Drawing attention to the great Istanbul earthquake, Görür said, “Now the glass is full enough in Istanbul. Time is running out. The last earthquake here was in 1766. We think that the renewal period of the earthquake in Marmara is 250 years. We think that there may be a big earthquake in Marmara in time. We think that the earthquake in Kocaeli in 1999 put extra stress on the fault. This worries us even more.” he said.
Saying that an earthquake with a minimum magnitude of 7.2 is expected in Istanbul, Görür said, “Preparation for an earthquake means first of all to make residential areas earthquake resistant. 2.5 million of our people are in danger in a possible earthquake. I want to warn the authorities. The earthquake is above politics. The safety of our people is a promise. subject.” used the phrases.
