Head of AFAD Yunus Sezer: We do not Request Any Documents from Earthquake Victims
Head of AFAD Yunus Sezer responded to the claims saying citizens were asked to produce “earthquake victim information cards.” Stating that they do not ask for such a document, Sezer said that the citizens were provided accommodation at the destination areas by taking their residence status into consideration.
Head of AFAD Yunus Sezer and the Director General of AFAD Earthquake and Risk Reduction Orhan Tatar made statements at AFAD Headquarters regarding the earthquake hit Kahramanmaraş that caused great damage in nine other provinces.
Stating that 10 provinces were determined as disaster areas, AFAD President Sezer stated that the Gendarmerie was appointed in 10 provinces and evacuation points were established for the citizens Sezer reminded that they have provided evacuation of the citizens who could not evacuate the city by their own means, with appropriate means set up by AFAD. Stating that they ask the citizens to apply to the evacuation center first, Sezer stated that the names and identification numbers of these people were entered into the system and then citizens are sent to the accommodation center commissions at the destination province. He added that they provide the citizens with accommodation without experiencing any grievances. Regarding citizens who left the city without applying to the evacuation points, they will provide them with accommodation by checking the residence of the citizens in case they apply to the commissions established in the governorates at the destination point. Sezer also underlined that they do not ask for any documents or “Earthquake Victim Information Cards” from the citizens. Stating that as AFAD, they recommend citizens to apply the evacuation points of their current location first in order to prevent facing problems, Sezer said that they will increase the number of provinces as the evacuation points.
The Resources Provided to Earthquake Victims Will Remain
Stating that citizens who were evacuated by the authorities or left the earthquake zones by their own means, seek information because they were afraid of losing their rights due to disinformation on social media, Sezer underlined citizens who do not make an application to the authorities will not lose their rights. Stating that all the resources the state will provide to the disaster victims will remain, Sezer asked them not to rely on statements other than the official ones. Sezer stated that they do not want any citizen to be victimized.
350-400 Kilometers Surface Rapture Occurred Due to the Earthquake
Underlying that the Anatolian geography has faced great earthquakes in the last 2 thousand years, the General Director of AFAD Earthquake and Risk Reduction Orhan Tatar, reported that they have estimated 350-400 kilometers surface rupture on the East Anatolian fault line due to the earthquake. He added that 1 thousand 600 aftershocks, 326 of them measuring 4-5 and 37 of them measuring 5-6 on the Richter scale have occurred. Reminding that the average earthquakes that AFAD recorded per year is usually around 22-23 thousand, Sezer said that the number of the earthquakes measured in the last 4 days has tripled the average number measured in a year. Sezer underlined that it is completely normal to measure aftershocks with 6 or higher magnitude on the Richter scale by considering the density of this earthquake. Tatar warned citizens to stay away from the damaged buildings.
