Disasters and Community Resilience: Strengthening Together

Turkey has been tested by major natural disasters throughout history. The 1999 Gölcük Earthquake, 2020 Izmir Earthquake, Western Black Sea floods and 2021 Manavgat fires are just a few of the disasters we have experienced. However, the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake was one of the biggest disasters of our country due to its magnitude and the wide geography it affected.

All these events once again showed that disaster management is shaped not only by destruction and losses but also by solidarity and resistance.  After the February 6 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes, thousands of people, volunteer groups, non-governmental organizations, municipalities and professional chambers quickly mobilized.

So, have we learned any lessons from this great disaster? What should we do to become a more resilient society in the future?

Are disasters only natural phenomena?

Disasters may be an inevitable consequence of nature, but the most important factor determining their impact on society is the measures taken or not taken by humans. Wrong urbanization, zoning amnesties, uncontrolled construction, environmental destruction and inadequate organization at the time of crisis are among the factors that turn disasters into disasters.

Let us remind you that in the flood disaster in the Western Black Sea in 2021, narrowing of stream beds and wrong construction increased flooding and loss of life. Similarly, in the February 6 earthquakes, earthquake-resistant buildings increased the extent of the damage. However, if we had learned from past disasters, many buildings might not have collapsed and thousands of people might not have lost their lives.

Community resilience: Emerging stronger from crises

Community resilience is not just about removing debris or repairing physical damage. Resilience is the capacity of individuals and society to adapt quickly in times of crisis, recover and be better prepared for similar disasters in the future (Reivich & Shatte, 2002).*

Drabek (1986)** states that post-disaster societies go through the following three stages: the first stage is the emergency response, i.e. first response, search and rescue, and relief efforts. The second stage is temporary adaptation where temporary shelter solutions and social support networks come into play. The third and final stage is long-term recovery, which includes structural transformations and the process of building resilient cities.
In particular, strong social ties within the community are one of the main factors that accelerate the recovery process (Folke, 2019).***

The factors that accelerate the recovery process of a society after a disaster can be listed as creating risk awareness, increasing the organizational strength of the structures that will play an active role in disaster management and developing better crisis management strategies by learning from past disasters.

It is worth remembering the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by UN member states in 2015.  This framework text defined priority actions to be implemented at international, regional and local levels. Strategies and action plans developed at national level in Turkey are also in line with this framework.

Given the multidimensional and multifaceted nature of disaster risks, besides key actors such as public administration, civil society as a whole and civil society organizations have an important role to play in achieving disaster risk reduction goals in the priority action areas mentioned above. The Sendai Framework elaborates on these roles of civil actors.

The article concerning the civilian sphere is as follows:
 

“Civil society, volunteers, organized voluntary work organizations and community-based organizations, in cooperation with public institutions, will participate, inter alia, to provide specific information and pragmatic guidance in the development and implementation of normative frameworks, standards and rules. They will be involved in the implementation of local, national, regional, regional and global plans and strategies for disaster risk reduction; support disaster risk awareness-raising, contributing to a culture of disaster prevention and education; and advocate for an inclusive and inclusive disaster risk management for resilient communities, strengthening synergies between social groups.”

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction emphasizes the critical importance of the effective participation of social groups such as women, children, youth, persons with disabilities, the elderly and migrants in the design, financing and implementation of gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction policies and plans. One of the most fundamental conditions for the effective participation of these groups in all stages of disaster risk management is their strong and competent organization. Therefore, special attention is paid to strengthening the capacities of civil organizations in disaster risk management.

February 6 earthquakes and the power of civil society

The February 6, 2023 earthquakes, just like the 1999 earthquakes, once again demonstrated the vital role of civil society in disasters and tested Turkey's disaster management system and social solidarity capacity in the most severe way.

Following the disaster, hundreds of thousands of volunteers, civil initiatives, non-governmental organizations and professional organizations quickly mobilized towards the earthquake zones.  The February 6 earthquakes once again showed us the vital role of civil society in disasters. So what did civil society do?

First of all, they supported search and rescue efforts.

• Professional chambers, volunteer engineers and health workers went to the field to rescue those trapped under the rubble.
• Civil engineers analyzed building safety and identified dangerous buildings.

Coordination of post-earthquake aid was also an important topic. Civil society organizations took many responsibilities in logistics and aid coordination.

• Aid from all over Turkey was organized by civil initiatives, civil society organizations and solidarity networks.
• Water, food, hygiene and clothing aid was quickly delivered to the affected provinces.

Civil society also played an important role in the realization of psychosocial support mechanisms for those affected by the earthquake.

• Psychologists and social workers provided psychological support to earthquake victims.
• Playgrounds and rehabilitation areas were created for children affected by the earthquake.

Civil society did not hesitate to take a hand in sheltering and reconstruction efforts after the initial crisis.

• Volunteer groups created pressure to accelerate permanent housing projects.
• Local governments took action to ensure better conditions in temporary shelters.
• By seeing and reporting the needs of vulnerable groups such as women, children, elderly, disabled, refugees and LGBTI individuals on site, they contributed to relief and reconstruction efforts.

The aftermath of 6 February showed once again how critical a role civil society can play in disaster management and how organized society can make a difference. But what is important is that this solidarity is sustainable at all times, not just in times of crisis.

Looking to the future stronger

6 One of the biggest lessons of the February earthquakes is that we need to develop a prevention-oriented approach to disasters, not just a response-oriented one. So what should we do?

• Disaster awareness and education: Every individual should have basic disaster knowledge and children should be taught disaster awareness at an early age.
• Strong organization and coordination: There should be more effective cooperation between municipalities, professional chambers and local solidarity networks.
• Earthquake-resilient cities: Building inspections should be tightened and buildings that do not comply with earthquake regulations should be rapidly transformed. In addition, public awareness should be raised in order to be prepared for earthquakes and resilient to disasters. Resilient cities are built with resilient communities
• Increase social solidarity: Neighborhood-based organized disaster plans should be created and local people should be provided with information on how to act in a crisis.

Since the role of civil society in disaster processes is vital, organizations' preparation of their own disaster risk plans is also an important topic that will contribute to creating a resilient society. The participation of organizations in Provincial Risk Reduction Plan (IRAP) and Turkey Disaster Response Plan-TAMP processes will strengthen disaster risk management processes.

Aware of our responsibility in combating disasters and crisis management, we organized our experience in the civil field to improve the prevention, preparedness and response capabilities of civil society organizations against disasters. We opened an office in Antakya to strengthen the power of civil society. We started to work together with local organizations with the aim of strengthening the role of civil society in disasters. We believe that this cooperation will strengthen the solidarity capacity of civil society and contribute to building a more prepared society against disasters.

On the second anniversary of the February 6 Earthquakes, we reiterate our will to work together for a stronger society against disasters and call on you to support us.

Our hope and determination: For a stronger future!

As we enter the second year of the February 6 earthquake, we still feel the pain of our losses deeply. However, we are also on our way to becoming a more aware, more organized and more prepared society.

Today, we are better equipped against disasters. We have gained experience in crisis management, volunteerism awareness has become stronger and solidarity networks have become more solid. But we know that this is not enough. We will continue to fight to become a faster, more organized and stronger society against similar disasters in the future.

Disasters may be temporary, but our solidarity, hope and struggle are permanent.

* Reivich, K., & Shatte, A. (2002). The Resilience Factor.
** Drabek, T. (1986). Human System Responses to Disaster
*** Folke, C. (2019). Resilience and Sustainable Development