Following the consecutive earthquakes in the Aegean Sea, an emergency action plan meeting was held hosted by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay. CHP Deputy Chairman Gökan Zeybek, who evaluated the possible risks and steps to be taken at the meeting, stated that the emergency action plan for the 5 major cities would be ready as of tomorrow. President Tugay also said, “We have established a crisis desk in Izmir under the coordination of our Disaster Affairs Department. We are closely following the process. If there is a problem at any point for Izmir and the surrounding provinces, we will be in solidarity as the Aegean Region.”
Following the consecutive earthquakes in the Aegean Sea, an emergency action plan meeting was held hosted by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay. CHP Deputy Chairs Gökan Zeybek and Murat Bakan, as well as Aydın Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu, Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek, Denizli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Bülent Nuri Çavuşoğlu and Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Aras attended the meeting where steps to be taken against risks were evaluated.
Criticism of the government transformation
CHP Deputy Chairman Gökan Zeybek said, “The commission on the Effects of the Earthquake and Damage Reduction established in the TBMM after the earthquake in İzmir in 2020 has a report numbered 278. It was discussed and accepted in the TBMM in July 2021. It is exactly 500 pages. In addition, a 912-page report was published after the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. The total of the 2 reports exceeds 412 pages. All institutions in Turkey made a due diligence and all risky areas were determined. It was stated that rapid steps should be taken to transform 6,7 million risky houses in Turkey within 20 years. 670 thousand of the more than 201 thousand houses that were demolished after the Kahramanmaraş earthquake were delivered. While a roadmap was determined for the transformation of 350 thousand houses per year, only 2 thousand houses were delivered to their rightful owners in 201 years after the earthquake. It seems that in order for the process to work, it is necessary to go beyond the usual methods.”
Call for interest-free loans for low-income citizens
Gökan Zeybek, who stated that after the 1999 earthquake, a tax was collected in Turkey under the name of earthquake tax and that more than 40 billion dollars of resources were obtained in this context, said that the collected resources were not used in urban transformation works. Zeybek said, “Resource and cost analysis results should be carefully done and direct access to financing should be provided to our citizens in need. It should be ensured that the financing gap is met by the Treasury with interest-free loans with a minimum term of 15 years for those who want to transform their homes and are low-income.”
“The municipalities’ debts to the Social Security Institution should be extended for at least 120 months without interest.”
Gökan Zeybek, who also evaluated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements on urban transformation, said, “In his statement, Mr. President demands that local governments take steps on this issue and accelerate the urban transformation process. Cooperation between state institutions should of course be at the highest level. However, turning to municipalities that you have made difficult by cutting their shares from the Bank of Provinces and the Treasury and saying ‘allocate resources and make investments for urban transformation’ is a contradiction in itself. The picture that emerges is very clear. If the state wants local governments to take an active part in the urban transformation process, it needs to extend the debts to the public or the Social Security Institution for at least 120 months without interest.”
He explained the work to be done
CHP Deputy Chairman Gökan Zeybek also explained the work done and to be done by the 5 major cities. Emphasizing that the emergency action plan of the CHP municipalities has been prepared, Zeybek said, “With this decision, we have determined how our fire department heads, disaster department heads, urban transformation department heads, water and sewage administration department heads will work in coordination in the event of a problem in the areas of the Aegean Region without the need for a call from the mayors. The relevant units of the municipalities will be on alert on a 24-hour basis. Our 5 major cities will prepare their emergency action plans as of tomorrow. I would like to state that the emergency action plans of our municipalities are ready regarding the measures to be taken in the event of a possible problem in the Aegean Region.”
Zeybek, who explained that there is no early warning system for tsunamis in Izmir and its surroundings, said, “Boğaziçi University Kandilli Research Institute is authorized on this issue. There is an early warning system in some cities, but we are calling for this to be implemented in all metropolitan municipality borders on the Aegean coast.”
“We decided to establish a tsunami warning system”
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay also stated that the earthquakes in the Aegean Sea rightfully worried the public and said, “We have established a crisis desk in Izmir under the coordination of our Disaster Affairs Department. We are closely following the process. We are closely following whether there is any movement in the fault lines in Turkey. We have decided to establish a tsunami warning system. We need to have an attitude that will warn our people in case of a risk. We are working and following the developments. In case of a problem at any point for Izmir and the surrounding provinces, we will be in an organization ready to provide assistance. We will work in cooperation as municipalities. We will be in solidarity as the Aegean Region.”
