I.S.A.R. will also be active in Turkey in the future. Our Turkish partners have created the conditions for this and founded I.SA.R. Turkey. Representatives of I.S.A.R. Turkey and I.S.A.R. Germany have now signed a cooperation agreement. A delegation from Germany had already visited the partners in Turkey in the autumn. Details of the cooperation were discussed at the meeting. The meeting took place in the Izmit/Kocaeli Earthquake Museum. The city was shaken by a severe earthquake in August 1999. Over 17,000 people died at the time.
View of the Earthquake Museum (Photo: ISAR/Stefan Heine)
The German side will support the development of the Turkish search and rescue organisation with knowledge transfer and technical equipment, among other things. Joint training courses and practical training will help I.S.A.R. Turkey to quickly develop into a disaster control unit with highly qualified personnel. I.S.A.R. Turkey will operate nationally at several locations in the country, but will also follow the United Nations guidelines for SAR units in addition to national guidelines.
Turkey is regularly hit by severe disasters. Last year, the country's disaster relief organisations were called upon to deal with major forest fires and flooding, among other things. Turkey is also frequently affected by earthquakes. Earthquake researchers are particularly concerned about the Istanbul region.