28 February 2023
On 6 February 2023 at 0417 hrs, a magnitude 7.8 RS earthquake rocked southeast of T¨¹rkiye near the northern border of Syria. Approximately nine hours later, this jolt was followed by a magnitude 7.5 RS earthquake located around 95 km to the southwest causing one of the biggest disasters to impact the region in nearly a century. It was centred near Gaziantep, home to millions of Turks, and thousands of Syrian refugees as well as where many UN agencies and other humanitarian aid organizations were also based.
In the aftermath of the catastrophic twin earthquakes in T¨¹rkiye, tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than a hundred thousand have been injured. Thousands of buildings have collapsed, leaving countless people homeless in winter harsh conditions. Roads and urban infrastructure, including critical utility supply lines, have been destroyed.
Turkish authorities declared a three-month State of Emergency in the provinces affected by the disaster leading to a call for international assistance. A massive search and rescue operation continued and humanitarian partners were rapidly ramping up efforts to provide life-saving assistance. While the Turkish government was leading the response there through coordination by the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) and with the Turkish Red Crescent, the United Nations and its agencies continued deploying disaster assessment experts; coordinating search and rescue teams; providing emergency relief, food, medical supplies, thermal blankets and other life-saving items. Regardless of whether the UN had suffered losses among its personnel in the areas impacted by the disaster, it continued operating in the frontline supporting those in need.
The UNDSS at the country level led by Field Security Coordination Officer (FSCO) Boris Paukov in the capacity of the Security Advisor (SA) ad interim mobilised all available UNDSS resources, including Ankara and Istanbul to ensure continuous support of UNDSS Gaziantep colleagues. He advised the Designated Official (DO) and Security Management Team (SMT) in crisis management and coordination of safety and security, including the Crisis Manager on specific operational aspects in the areas affected by the disaster; coordinated the provision of psychological support to the UN personnel with Critical Incident Stress Management Section (CISMS) and Middle East and North Africa Desk.
At the onset of the crisis from the first hours having been directly affected by the earthquakes, the UNDSS Gaziantep team led by FSCO Abdel Majid Hammouqa managed the situation by alerting all UN Agencies of the disaster and organising a headcount of the UNSMS personnel by activating the warden system and then advising on threats and risks the Agencies, Funds and Programmes operating in Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmarash provinces that have been affected the most. Recognising the key requirement for maintaining stable emergency communication during the crisis, he set up temporary Security Operations Centre (SOC) in the UNDSS vehicle in Gaziantep and worked during the first two critical days knowing that the office could be dangerous to work from while the tremors continued. The SOC led by Mr. Oguzhan Sivacilar and supported by Mr. Emre Kahramanlar, Mr. Mehmet Kilic and Mr Bulent Erenturk by ensuring uninterrupted communication with the UN personnel, UNDSS, DO/SMT and CM/CMT and tracking of the UN missions assigned to support the emergency operations in the earthquakes-hit areas.
The UNDSS T¨¹rkiye team got mobilised to ensure uninterrupted support of UNDSS Gaziantep colleagues during the first 72 hours - the most critical time - of the crisis. Field Security Associates operating from Istanbul and Ankara ¨C Mr. Serdar Kalfa, Mr Halil Sarica, Erhan Mumcuogly and Mr. Alim Sahin ¨C supported the SA a.i. in maintaining coordination and information sharing with AFAD and state security authorities both at the country level and regionally. The external Security Operations Centre (SOC) led by Mr. Ozan Guler and Mr. Ilhan Koksal was activated in Ankara to shift some workload from the Gaziantep UNDSS SOC to maintain the continuity of operations.