Hakkari establishes 56 teams of 2,000 personnel to prepare for disasters

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Hakkari, which is located in the earthquake zone, has established 56 teams consisting of 2,000 police, gendarmerie, and teachers, to be prepared for disasters. These teams are receiving search and rescue training, and work is underway to assess the earthquake risk of 2,500 buildings in the city.

In order to intervene in possible disasters and emergencies throughout the city, a project has been initiated under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior, upon the instruction of Governor and Deputy Mayor Ali Çelik.

In the first stage, a total of 56 search and rescue teams were established, consisting of 2,000 personnel from the Provincial Gendarmerie Command, Provincial Police, and Provincial National Education Directorates.

These teams, which are subject to theoretical and practical training by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK) teams, are then taken to the debris field in groups of 16 people to be informed about search methods, rescue equipment, techniques for transporting injured and wounded individuals, and extracting injured individuals from debris.

In addition, work is underway to establish logistic depots in the city center and the Yüksekova district, where tent and container cities will be set up in case of an earthquake. It is aimed to stockpile 5,000 tents and various materials for this purpose.

In order to determine whether the 2,500 buildings built before 2015 in the city are at risk in case of an earthquake, a protocol was signed between the university and the municipality. So far, approximately 600 people have applied to the municipality for this free service.

"We aim to complete this process quickly."

Governor and Deputy Mayor Ali Çelik stated in an interview with AA that after the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, scientists drew attention to seismic gaps, and one of these locations was Hakkari and Yüksekova. Çelik emphasized the necessity of making the earthquake issue the top priority for both the city center and the districts, stating, "If the fault line here doesn't release its energy today, it will do so tomorrow, or after 20 or 30 years. We need to be prepared for this. How can we be prepared for an earthquake? By creating earthquake-resistant cities. That is the key point."

Çelik explained that they conducted micro zoning studies on a neighborhood basis to determine the durability of buildings after starting work at the municipality. He continued, "The initial results we obtained are a reflection of our concerns. When we analyzed the observational risk level of the buildings, we saw that some neighborhoods consisted of up to 80% risky structures. We have initiated a process of conducting experimental structure analysis reports for 2,500 buildings in cooperation with our university. This involves testing the columns, beams, and static structures by taking core samples. We will provide this service for free. We have started to receive applications. We aim to complete this process quickly." Çelik stated that the continuation of these studies will be urban transformation and underlined that the only way to prevent the damages that an earthquake can cause is to build structures that will not collapse during an earthquake.

"We aim to stockpile 5,000 tents"

Çelik stated that planning for search and rescue and sheltering processes against earthquakes is essential. He said, "So far, we have established 56 search and rescue teams. These teams consist of gendarmerie, police, and teachers. We have started the training process in teams of 16 people each. We have also initiated the purchasing process for hydraulic support machines and facilities, which are necessary besides manpower to enter the debris area in the initial moments of an earthquake. We will make a protocol with the university for training search and rescue volunteers in 10 neighborhoods within the boundaries of the municipality, and we will place containers containing all the machines and tools that should be in a search and rescue team in these neighborhoods."

Çelik stated that they aim to establish logistic depots in Yüksekova and the city center, and strive to stockpile 5,000 tents. He said, "We aim to create temporary shelter areas with one thousand containers for both Yüksekova and the city center. After completing the necessary planning and infrastructure works for these areas, container shipments will continue. The newly constructed buildings here are a significant advantage for us. The regulations put forth by the state are actually aimed at organizing and protecting human life. Therefore, all the regulations issued regarding building construction are intended to protect human life. Our citizens who engage in illegal construction to avoid different costs should stay away from this process so that we do not face the bitter consequences as a society."

Çelik stated that with the new teams they have established, they will reach a total of 2,000 search and rescue personnel. He said, "The buying process of equipment will be completed, and they will become fully equipped search and rescue teams. The laboratory is already in place for obtaining core samples. We will accept applications until the end of April. By the end of July, we will have completed the results related to the core samples. After that, we will begin the process based on the demands for urban transformation from our citizens and the need for urban transformation in our city, in the areas we will establish in the upper region."

"Teams are becoming equipped"

Search and Rescue Technician Abdurrahman Yıldız, who works at AFAD, said that the teams established in the city are continuing their training. Yıldız stated, "We teach them techniques such as rough, physical search, gallery opening, and domino technique, as well as entry methods such as top, side, and lifting floors. These teams become equipped through living the experience of debris in their training."