After the earthquake in the southeast region, all eyes turned to the works carried out in the 10 provinces affected by the earthquake.
Providing information about the Cansuyu Aid and Solidarity Association teams working in the region, Association President Mustafa Köylü expressed his wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured, while wishing God's mercy to the citizens who died in the earthquake, condolences and patience to their relatives.
Köylü underlined that, as an association, they carried out studies in every field during the biggest earthquake disaster in the history of the Republic.
“AFAD WAS NOT PREPARED FOR AN EARTHQUAKE THAT LARGE”
Drawing attention to the size of the earthquake's impact area, Köylü reminded the Marmara Earthquake that took place in the past.
"The biggest earthquake we experienced was the Marmara Earthquake, but this earthquake was 10 times bigger than that and it was very common. Destruction everywhere, life market, pain everywhere, tears everywhere, such a picture. Of course, AFAD, which took part in these disasters, is also tested for the first time by such a big earthquake. There has never been such an earthquake since the establishment of AFAD. Of course, no matter how well-prepared our institutions, the state's institutions were, the scale of the earthquake was so great that at first there was a real confusion and emptiness. Because such an earthquake has never been seen before. In this process, as Cansuyu Association, we took action as soon as we heard the news," he added.
“OUR FIRST TEAM STARTED WORK 1 HOUR AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE”
Expressing that after the earthquake, associations and NGOs received the news, Köylü underlined that action was taken from every point of Turkey on the morning of the earthquake.
"The earthquake happened at 04:17, we were informed at 6 o'clock. We got organized right away and at 9 o'clock we set out our search and rescue teams. Of course, since we work under the coordination of AFAD, our search and rescue teams started to work wherever AFAD directed us. Some of them were directed to Kahramanmaraş, some of them were directed to Adana, some of them were directed to Hatay, some of them were directed to Malatya, while our friends reached the disaster areas by various routes. The first response was with the intervention of our team in Adana to the collapsed buildings in Adana. Our team started to work 1 hour after the earthquake. Our other teams had a hard time going to their duty areas due to the roads. It took 24 hours for our Malatya team to arrive," he stated.
“THE LAND AND DESK PLANS CANNOT BE IMPLEMENTED 100 PERCENTLY”
Stating that the teams started their work once they reached their place of duty, Köylü underlined that all existing teams started to actively save lives from the debris in the field.
"Our search and rescue team, consisting of 5 teams in earthquake zones, continued to save lives by working with all their energies at every point they were assigned by AFAD. Of course, although there are plans in every field, the plans made at the desk do not comply with the terrain conditions. The program made at the desk in the field cannot be implemented 100 percent. Especially in disasters like earthquakes. You don't know the extent of the disaster. No matter how much you prepare, there is uncertainty in front of you. No matter how much you prepare, there may be disruptions because of this. Of course, the purpose is not to curse the darkness, but to light a candle and illuminate our way," he said.
“WE STILL HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE TENT AND BLANKETS”
Indicating that each institution has its own preparations, Köylü stated that the existing preparations in the institutions would not be sufficient in the face of the magnitude of the disaster.
"After all, institutions have their own preparations. These preparations are not enough against such a big earthquake. For example, you make a tent, the life of the tent is 2 years, if it is not used, it will rot. For this reason, institutions have enough tents and blankets in their hands. When 13.5 million people came to the field all of a sudden, it was difficult to get them here. Thank God, our nation has been organized in every part of the country since the beginning of the event. All NGOs got involved. Everyone tried to do their part. In a short time, so much aid material arrived that there were even agglomerations in some regions. But there are still problems with tents and blankets. Today, we are still buying tents, blankets and stoves, and we continue to send them. We ensure that the materials of the trucks coming from every point of Turkey are distributed. We continue to distribute food with mobile food trucks in all regions," he added.