A new change in the disaster management structure of Turkey
Official communiqué
An important shift occured in the disaster management structure of Turkey in 2009. A new department called “Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency” (DEMP) under Prime Ministry was established in December, 17 2009. Turkey is prone to major types of disasters.
Disaster management structure was governed by three main actors until 2009 in Turkey. They were; General Directorate of Disaster Affairs under Ministry of Public Works and Settlement, General Directorate of Civil Defence under Ministry of Interior and Turkey Emergency Management General Directorate under Prime Ministry. With the Law n.5902 issued in 2009, the activities of those three departments were ended and the new Presidency has became operative since 17 December 2009. Most of the
duties of those three actors will be performed by DEMP. The law N:5902 defines the central and provincial level structure of the new unit. According to this law there are six department at central levels. In each city, there is a provincial disaster and emergency management directorate that is directly attached to the governor of the city.
There are six departments and 3 boards under Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency. The departments are;
· Planning and Mitigation Department,
· Earthquake Department,
· Recovery Department,
· Civil Defence Department,
· Response Department,
· Department of Administrative Affairs
Under these six departments there established several working groups at different topics. The duties and responsibilities of each departments are defined by the Law 5902.
In addition to these departments there are three high levels.
· Disaster and Emergency Management Higher Committee,
· Disaster and Emergency Management Co-ordination Committee,
· Earthquake Advisory Board.
The personnel structure of the Presidency mainly consists of disaster management experts, engineers from related disciplines, instructors, technical staff and administrative staff. With this new re-structuring there will be more effective and powerful mechanisms for each phases of disaster management cycle. The local authorities will have more power and responsibility and the new system will be more decentralized.
The relationship with UN-ISDR will also be performed by the Presidency. For this purpose the contact details were updated and sent to the ISDR Secretariat formally in 2010. For further information on the details of this new system you can contact from the official Hyogo Framework of Action National Focal Point for Turkey e mail address given below.
Mailing Address:
Prime Ministry
Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency
Eskisehir Road, Lodumlu, Ankara-TURKEY
Phone: +90 (312) 2878939 ; +90 (312) 2872680/1331 or 1576
Fax : +90 (312) 2878924 ; +90 (312) 287 93 70
E Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.afetacil.gov.tr; www.deprem.gov.tr