ADIYAMAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION NOTE
The report prepared by Jale Velibeyoğlu, a member of the Board of Directors of the Association, after her visit to the region.
Report Release Date: February 11, 2023
Current Situation in Adiyaman
Adıyaman is one of the 11 provinces most affected by the earthquake. The most affected areas in Adiyaman were Adiyaman city center, Gölbaşı and Besni. In general, the mountain villages of Adiyaman suffered the most damage.
80% of Adiyaman Center was severely damaged by the earthquake. In Adiyaman, 1944 buildings were completely destroyed and there are 7,000 heavily damaged buildings that urgently need to be demolished.
Adiyaman Municipality and Municipal Services
The main building of Adiyaman Municipality was completely destroyed in the earthquake. The sewage, water and wastewater system of Adiyaman city center has completely collapsed.
Water is supplied to certain parts of the city and the quality of the water is not good. There is an urgent need to install a filtration system for clean water.
One of the major problems of Adiyaman Municipality is that houses of 80% of the municipality employees’ were destroyed and they lost their close relatives in the earthquake. Currently, people are rapidly leaving the city due to housing problems. Municipality employees also want to leave the city. In this case, Adiyaman Municipality and the city will completely cease to function. Therefore, there is an urgent need for 100 containers to accommodate municipality employees.
Electricity and Natural Gas
Electricity has been supplied to the city since the 4th day of the earthquake.
Natural gas has not yet been supplied to the city.
Housing Problem
As mentioned above, 80% of the buildings in the city have been demolished. The housing problem is at its peak. Some of the people whose houses were destroyed or are uninhabitable went to live with their relatives in rural Kahta and Besni. Others were directed to different provinces by AFAD.
In Adiyaman, markets, grocery stores and bakeries are closed in the areas affected by the earthquake. In other words, it is impossible for people to buy anything even if they have money. It is expected that the markets in intact buildings that have not been looted will open as soon as possible.
Those staying in Adiyaman city center live in gruelling conditions. No container cities have yet been established in the city. Tent cities are still being built. People prefer to set up tents in front of their houses. The small groups of tents set up inside the city are faced with electricity, water, toilet and security problems. Moreover, the nights are very cold and earthquake survivors say, “we survived the rubble, but we will freeze to death.”
Earthquake victims in the city center are struggling to live in makeshift nylon shelters or in their cars. Therefore, container cities or prefabricated shelters are urgently needed. But these areas must be supported with social hubs.
In addition, there should be showers, toilets, laundry and community centers in the tent cities.
In Adiyaman, the Organized Industrial Zone, the area where the factories are located, has not suffered much damage. However, since the houses of the workers were destroyed, they all left the city and went to the villages. In order for the factories to be operational again, the workers’ housing problem needs to be resolved. This can be possible with the establishment of a tent city for the workers. However, in Turkey, field tents are currently produced only for the Red Crescent and AFAD, and it is almost impossible to find field tents for Organized Industrial Zones.
Considering that the commercial life has come to an end due to the destroyed buildings, one can better understand how challenging the situation of the city is.
Mood of the People Living in the Region
As in all Anatolian cities, all relatives in Adiyaman live in the same neighborhood or in the same building. As a result of the collapse of 80% of the buildings due to the earthquake, people lost many family members and relatives. On average, a family lost 25–30 relatives. There are many elderly, adult women, men or young people who have lost their whole family and are left alone.
People are still in shock and have not yet mourned their losses. They are struggling with problems of survival and shelter. The city is busy during the daytime with support groups, municipality workers, health workers and volunteers visiting the area. But when they leave the city in a week, the situation will be very dramatic for the remaining people.
Psycho-social support is absolutely necessary for people to cope with their losses and to hold on to life again.
Needs | Local Support |
Container City (100 units) — For municipal workers | All infrastructure, water, electricity, sewerage works will be done by the municipality. |
Container City + Social Hub | All infrastructure, water, electricity, sewerage works will be done by the municipality. |
Filters for clean water | Maintenance will be done by the Adiyaman Municipality. |
Urgent need: | Dried food will be distributed through NGOs. |
ADIYAMAN GÖNÜLLÜLERİ
Proje Süreci: 8 Şubat – 10 Mart 2023
Adıyaman, Antakya ve Maraş ile birlikte en çok etkilenen iller arasında yer alıyor. İlk günlerde dışarıdan neredeyse hiç yardım gelmemiştir. Tüm büyük hükümet binaları (il binası, belediye binası, AFAD) kullanılamaz hale gelmiş veya yıkılmış, birçok devlet memuru da ölmüştür ve yerel yetkililer neredeyse ortadan kalkmıştır. Kısmen kötü hava koşulları ve tahrip olmuş yollar nedeniyle ilk profesyonel USAR grupları Adıyaman’a ancak depremin üçüncü gününde ulaşabilmiştir. Sağlanan yardımlar büyük ölçüde vatandaşların geçici girişimleriyle gerçekleştirilmiştir.
Adıyaman’dan ve Türkiye’nin diğer illerinden gelen, aralarında STK temsilcilerinin de bulunduğu bir grup gönüllü, sağlam bir okulda yardım malzemelerinin dağıtımı için bir depo oluşturulmuş ve bir koordinasyon merkezi kurulmuştur. Geçtiğimiz bir buçuk hafta içinde bu merkez, şehir ve çevresindeki kırsal alanda yürütülen yardım çalışmalarının ana merkezi haline gelmiştir. Merkezin halen orada bulunan yerel yetkililerle iyi bir iletişimi bulunmaktadır. Operasyonların bir spor salonundan sürdürülmesi için hazırlıklar yapılmaktadır.
Sürecin kısa hikâyesi: Uluslararası Lider İş İnsanları Derneği (LEADERS), bölgeye destek olmak için yerel iletişim noktasına ihtiyaç duymuştur. İKASİ Yönetim Kurulu üyesi olan Jale Velibeyoğlu, Adıyaman Ticaret Odası Meclis üyesi ve Adıyaman Kültürel ve Ekonomik Kalkınma Derneği (AKEK) Başkanı Dilvinşah Toprak’ın acil yardım talebini LEADERS ile birleştirerek süreci başlatmıştır.
Adıyaman’da sağlanan acil yardım, başta çevre illerden gelen “LEADERS” üyeleri olmak üzere, bireysel vatandaşların, şirketlerin ve STK’ların bağışları ve yardım malzemelerinin katkılarıyla kendiliğinden mümkün olmuştur.
Merkeze gelen yardımlar 3 şekilde dağıtılmaktadır:
– Köylerden gelen taleplerden teyit edilmekte, önceliklendirilmekte (engellisi ve yaşlısı olanlar), yardım doğrudan gönüllüler tarafından köylere götürülmektedir.
– Şehir içinde sokak sokak gezerek ihtiyaç tespiti yapılarak ertesi gün merkezde bulunan malzemelere göre ihtiyaç sahiplerine gönüllüler tarafından dağıtım yapılmaktadır.
– Ayrıca her gün saat 10.00 – 17.00 arası çevreden gelen vatandaşlara eldeki yardım malzemeleri dağıtılmaktadır.
Ayrıca, TSE Müdürü Jülide Hanımın yönlendirmesi ile 4 mobil tuvalet Belediye ve Adıyaman Rektörlüğü tarafından kurulan çadır kentlere gönderilmiştir.
Kayıt altında tuttuğumuz ve dağıttığımız malzemeler aşağıdaki gibidir:
- 212 köye ulaşım sağlandı ve ihtiyaçları karşılandı.
- 19 gönüllü araçla dağıtım yapıldı.
- Toplam 30 yardım tırı geldi.
- 800 çadır dağıtıldı ve kurulumu sağlandı.
- 975 elektrikli soba dağıtıldı.
- 475 odun sobası dağıtıldı.
- 10.000’e yakın kişiye gıda yardımı, kıyafet ve hijyen malzemeleri verildi.
3 Nisan – 10 Nisan 2023 Uluslararası Lider İş İnsanları Derneği (LEADERS) ve İKASİ olarak, ASİYAH VAKFI’ na gönüllü destek vererek Adıyaman, Hatay-Hassa, Gaziantep ve Diyarbakır’da 2000 adet gıda ve hijyen kolisi dağıttık.
Bizi destekleyen başta TÜRKONFED olmak üzere tüm kişi, kurum ve kuruluşlara içtenlikle teşekkür ederiz.
Images from Our Project (PHASE 2)
PHASE 1
ADIYAMAN PROVINCE EARTHQUAKE RELIEF PROJECT
On February 6, 2023, two devastating earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale occurred in the province of Kahramanmaraş, causing major damage in ten provinces in southern and southeastern Turkey: Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Osmaniye and Şanliurfa. According to official figures, the death toll reached 44,218. The death toll is generally assumed to be much higher, as many people were buried in the early days without being recorded.
The province and city of Adiyaman, located in the northeastern part of the disaster zone, was one of the worst affected areas.
The earthquake occurred in the worst possible conditions, during an unusually heavy snowfall. Almost all government buildings collapsed and many officials lost their lives. In the early days, the dead could not be registered, while religious rules require burial within 24 hours. Due to gruelling weather conditions and road closures, USAR teams reached Adiyaman too late, leading to inevitable rise of the death toll. To date, 13,730 buildings with 44,817 units (houses, workshops, offices) have collapsed or are counted as heavily damaged (to be demolished). Another 4,338 buildings (17,489 units) are categorized as “moderately damaged” and in need of major repair and retrofitting to make them habitable again.
The districts of Adiyaman were unevenly affected. Gölbaşı town, the center of the district of the same name, is located on the fault line and was 80% destroyed. Besni district and town were also heavily damaged. Çelikhan and Gerger are the least affected districts, followed by Samsat, Kahta and Sincik. Currently, 9,896 village houses are uninhabitable and 1,401 barns have collapsed.
The earthquake has destroyed the livelihoods of both city dwellers and villagers. No shops are open, many businesses have been destroyed or their furniture and equipment damaged. The organized industrial zone is still partially operational. However, it will be difficult to restart undamaged businesses immediately, as workers have died or fled. Livestock farming is an important source of income in the villages. Many animals died in the earthquake and mortality is high as numerous barns collapsed. Taking advantage of the villagers’ plight, traders are buying the remaining livestock at prices well below market value. Agricultural equipment has also been damaged and some of it is unusable. A complicating factor that can easily be overlooked is that large numbers of people from the city have sought refuge in less affected villages. In the long term, this could lead to major food, shelter and public health problems for these villages.
IKASI is planning a relief project with the following components for earthquake victims in the districts and villages of Adıyaman:
- Distribution of relief supplies in the villages and district centers of Adiyaman and in tent and container camps in and around the city
- Supporting livelihoods and revitalizing the economic life of villages
- Rehabilitation of children, especially in villages
- Information center for people affected by the earthquake
- Women’s Community Center (in cooperation with Eastern and Southeastern Business Women’s Association – DOGUNKAD)
IKASI plans to distribute relief supplies to rural earthquake victims and urban residents in camps. Since urban needs are better met by other organizations, IKASI will focus mainly on rural areas. Even in normal times, villagers are among the most vulnerable groups in the region.
Our project is supported by CORDAID.
OUR ACTIVITIES
– The contract for our project supported by Cordaid was signed on March 16, 2023.
– We established a project field team.
– We are in the process of identifying 20 villages and 400 families that we will support under our project.
– We are about to finish collecting information about the information office we will set up in the city center; we are preparing a small information brochure.
– Our procurement activities are underway and we have published tender announcements on our website.
– Our project partner, ÇAÇA (Children Under the Same Roof) Association, is continuing their preparatory work and will start their activities at the end of April.
– Apart from all these activities, we regularly attend ECHO’s weekly meetings in Adıyaman and exchange information.
PHASE 2
EARTHQUAKE RELIEF PROJECT FOR ADIYAMAN PROVINCE AND ITS DISTRICTS – PHASE II
On February 6, 2023, two devastating earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale occurred in the province of Kahramanmaraş, causing major damage in ten provinces in southern and southeastern Turkey. The province and city of Adiyaman, located in the northeastern part of the disaster zone, was one of the worst affected areas.
The first phase of the “Earthquake Relief Project for Adıyaman Province and its Districts” was completed after four months of intensive work and relief support that had started in March 2023, immediately after the earthquake.
“Earthquake Relief Project for Adiyaman Province and Its Districts – Phase II” is intended to meet the needs of families affected by the earthquake in Adiyaman province and its districts, to strengthen them with economic support, to organize activities for children, to inform earthquake victims about the services of the state and non-governmental organizations and to provide guidance to make the best use of these opportunities.
Objectives of Our Project
– Cater for basic needs of earthquake-stricken families;
– Provide livelihood and income-generating support to earthquake-stricken families;
– Provide support to children affected by the earthquake through activities;
– Inform and provide guidance to earthquake victims about the services of the state and NGOs for their needs.
Target Groups of Our Project
In Adiyaman province and its districts, 285 earthquake survivor families, 290 earthquake survivor families living on livestock farming, 10,500 earthquake survivor children and anyone who wants to receive support from the information center (3,000 people)
Project Activities
Below are the Project activities planned to achieve our goals and objectives.
- Distribution of Basic Supplies
- Livelihood Support and Income Generation
2.1 Supporting Sheep and Goat Farming as an Income Generating Activity (Distribution of Sheep and Goats)
2.2 Feed Support
2.3 Cooperative Work and Establishment of a Cold Supply Chain - Art Workshops for Children
- Guidance and Information Office
Our project is supported by CORDAID.
Images from Our Project (PHASE 2)
