Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency

The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey^[1](Turkish: Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı, AFAD) was established in 2009 to take necessary measures for effective emergency management and civil protection nationwide in Turkey. The presidency conducts pre-incident work, such as preparedness, mitigation and risk management, during-incident work such as response, and post-incident work such as recovery and reconstruction. AFAD reports to the Turkish Prime Ministry.

Amongst the Governmental, NGO and private institutions, the presidency provides coordination, formulates policies and implements policies.

In a disaster and emergency, the AFAD is the sole responsible organization.

History

Two consecutive major earthquakes in 1999, the 1999 İzmit earthquake and the 1999 Düzce earthquake became the turning point in disaster management in Turkey. These earthquakes put pre-disaster planning and preparation on the agenda of the government and the general population of the country.

At that time, Turkey's Disaster Management System was mainly focused on the post-disaster period, and there were no incentives or legislation to encourage risk analysis or risk reduction approaches before earthquakes occur. Both the academic and the technical authorities agreed that the country had a pressing need to develop pre-disaster precautions, and that would require both updated legislation and administrative restructuring.

By the Act dated 29/5/2009 and No. 5902 Establishment of Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency; General Directorate of Turkey Emergency Management under Prime Ministry, General Directorate of Civil Defence under Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of Disaster Affairs under Ministry of Public Works and Settlement were closed. Three core institutions have unified under a single independent authority with the act adopted by the Parliament and entered into force in June, 2009.

The new institution was named Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı (Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) or AFAD.

Killis refugee camp

In Feb. 2014, the Killis refugee camp, run by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, was featured in a Feb. 13 article in the New York Times titled How to Build a Perfect Refugee Camp. The camp is staffed by Turkish government employees, rather than by NGOs. It is hoped that the 14,000 refugees of the Syrian Civil War benefiting from the clean, well organized facility will eventually "go home and become grand ambassadors of Turkey."^[2]

References

1. ↑ AFAD's website in English reviewed in 10.11.2011
2. ↑ McClelland, Mac (2014-02-13). "How to Build a Perfect Refugee Camp". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-06-09. 

External links

• Official website (Turkish)

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