Bursa Metropolitan Municipality has taken another important step in order to make the city more prepared, strong and resilient against disasters and has put the Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM) into operation. Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, who explained that all data regarding the city will be collected in AKOM, said, “In the event of a possible disaster, the data obtained will be transferred to AKOM and the first interventions will be made in coordination with AFAD. By creating a force together, interventions will be made in the shortest time.”
Continuing its efforts to make Bursa a safer and more resilient city, the Metropolitan Municipality has opened AKOM, which will operate under the umbrella of the Disaster Affairs Department and has been given a more comprehensive and effective working structure with its renewed appearance. The opening program at the Merinos Atatürk Congress and Culture Center was attended by Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, Bursa AFAD Provincial Director Mehmet Buldan, Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ergül Halisçelik, Deputy Secretaries General, Gemlik Mayor Şükrü Deviren, Yenişehir Mayor Ercan Özel, Bursa City Council President Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Aksoy and metropolitan bureaucrats.
“We don’t want to experience any more pain”
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey stated that the major earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023 caused everyone unforgettable pain and commemorated those who lost their lives with mercy. Reminding that he also experienced the 1999 earthquake as a city manager, Mayor Bozbey stated that everyone was surprised by the February 99 earthquake because no lessons could be learned from the 6 earthquake. Expressing that they are a nation that has experienced disasters for centuries in this geography, Mayor Bozbey said, “While there is so much experience, we also need to produce solutions. In recent years, we have seen a great change with the participation of civil society organizations. AFAD and our municipalities are carrying out important work. We have to be much more dynamic and prepared from now on. Therefore, we should establish structures such as AKOM. Our geography is a geography prone to disasters. In addition to earthquakes, fire and flood are also disasters. City managers have great responsibilities at this point. We should never allow illegal construction and warehouses. We have experienced enough pain. We do not want to experience more pain. “We must leave livable cities to our children,” he said.
“A more comprehensive system will be created for AKOM in 2025”
Stating that approximately 3.7 million people live in Bursa and that they have to continue their preparations against disasters systematically and that they will work together with AFAD, President Bozbey said, “The data obtained will be transferred to AKOM and the first interventions will be made in coordination with AFAD. Efforts will be made to prevent loss of life. In the event of a disaster, a force will be formed together and intervention will be made as soon as possible. We are making these investments for this. The center will operate in Merinos for now in order not to waste time. We say for now because we are planning to establish a more comprehensive and fully equipped new center for AKOM. We will create a system where we can control the entire city, especially our streams and air. Bursa also has a disaster situation regarding the environment and air. We will follow all the data one by one. We expect those who pollute the environment to comply with the laws. Mucilage is formed in the Marmara Sea as a result of the pollution of the streams. The mucilage incident in the Marmara Region, where 30 million people live, is also a disaster. We must overcome these issues as a country. We must be able to close down the businesses that poison the people of the region. “The public also needs to know who pollutes,” he said.
“We can create a safer city”
Reminding that he was in the region for 22 days during the Hatay earthquake, Mayor Bozbey said that the priorities should be determined better before, during and after the earthquake. Stating that they placed disaster containers in various regions in Nilüfer years ago, Mayor Bozbey said, “The disaster containers we placed in 28 neighborhoods have become an example for Turkey. We formed volunteers. We aimed for the neighborhood disaster volunteers to do the first intervention in a possible disaster. I saw how right we were in Hatay. If there had been a drill or generator there, maybe one more life would have been saved. We can create a safer city by expanding the neighborhood disaster volunteers. Work on assembly areas continues. We have started work on the disaster parks project. We have to make post-disaster interventions effective. We have to create logistics warehouses and supply chains.”
Reminding that there are intense earthquake movements in the Aegean Sea, President Bozbey said, “We also have the responsibility to prepare for this issue. We should make preparations now to intervene in a possible disaster. If we only think of Bursa, we have no chance of fully solving the problem. We should accelerate urban transformation in regions where liquefaction potential is high. We should create resilient cities. I wish for days when there are no disasters but we are prepared. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the implementation of AKOM.”
AFAD Provincial Director Mehmet Buldan remembered with mercy the citizens who lost their lives in the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş two years ago. Explaining that AKOM, which was put into service by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality on the anniversary of the February 6 earthquakes, will provide great support to the coordination in disasters and emergencies to be carried out under the coordination of AFAD, Buldan said, “The healthy progress of information and data flow here will make a serious contribution together with the Bursa Governorship Disaster Management Center in possible disasters and emergencies in the city. The establishment of such a center and its equipping with new technology is extremely important. The center will provide great benefits in terms of disaster management to be carried out under the leadership of our Mayor Mustafa Bozbey and coordination of our Governor. I would like to thank Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey for bringing AKOM to our city. We are all struggling for this city to be a resilient city. Because Bursa has to be resilient in every aspect. It has to be ready for disasters and emergencies.”
Gemlik Mayor Şükrü Deviren stated that he sees the opening of AKOM as the beginning of a period in which scientific data is used. Reminding that Gemlik has alluvial soil, Deviren said, “In the 6-magnitude earthquake simulation we conducted with Bursa Technical University, we saw that no matter how solid your building is, if sufficient technical applications are not made, buildings collapse or fall on their sides. Artificial intelligence says, ‘48 thousand people will die in Gemlik.’ We are one of the 3 districts where ground surveys have been completed. We want to be prioritized among the 3 districts. Because Gemlik is a tired city. That is why we care about AKOM. I would like to thank those who contributed.”
Yenişehir Mayor Ercan Özel stated that the August 17 and February 6 earthquakes caused great pain to Turkey. Özel, who stated that the earthquake was not the result and that it was important to create resilient cities, said, “Bursa is in the first-degree earthquake zone. Plain areas such as Gemlik, Yenişehir, Karacabey, Mustafakemalpaşa are also places where liquefaction is intense. We must be prepared for all disasters. AKOM, which the Metropolitan Municipality has put into service, will also carry out coordination in the city. I would like to thank everyone who brought this service to Bursa.”
Following the speeches, Mayor Bozbey and his entourage cut the opening ribbon and opened AKOM to service. Mayor Bozbey then toured the center and received information about the work from the authorities.
