President of AFAD Okay Memiş: ‘We will rehabilitate all risky streams with 111 construction machines’

AFAD President Okay Memiş stated that a total of 111 pieces of heavy equipment were purchased in collaboration with institutions, and they have started to rehabilitate all risky streams starting from the Black Sea Region with the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). AFAD President Okay Memiş, after conducting inspections in regions affected by disasters in the Black Sea, came to Erzurum. Getting information about the current situation in Erzurum from the authorities at the Provincial Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate, President Memiş said, ‘Yesterday and the day before, we were in Samsun. As declared by the General Directorate of Meteorology to AFAD and the whole of Turkey, there was an orange rainfall warning in Samsun and Ordu. The orange warning is an important warning for us. It indicates a risky rainfall and warns us to be very cautious. For this reason, I, the Deputy President of AFAD, our General Director of Disaster Response, and our team were in Samsun. From there, we went to Ordu.’ He added, ‘Our citizens should definitely pay attention to warnings.’ Despite the orange warning in Samsun, President Memiş reminded that no casualties occurred due to the precautions taken. However, despite all warnings and precautions taken in Ordu, an 83-year-old lady in the Çaybaşı district unfortunately lost her life while trying to cross the river, even though her family and children had warned her. Her lifeless body was found by our AFAD teams two kilometers downstream from where she was swept away. Meanwhile, meteorological warnings continued in the region, but in the form of a yellow warning. A yellow warning does not pose a significant risk for us. However, we still need to follow the warnings because within a day or even within hours, this yellow warning can turn into an orange warning.’ President Memiş mentioned, ‘A citizen in Karayazı was swept away by floodwaters.’ Okay Memiş, the AFAD President, expressing that they expect similar rains along the Black Sea coast during these seasons, stated, ‘There were yellow warnings in Giresun, Trabzon, and Rize. Also, for the past 2-3 days, there was a yellow rainfall warning from Erzurum to Van in the Eastern Anatolia region. In Erzurum, especially in our Tekman district, there were floods and inundations in certain areas due to sudden rains. We identified damages in some neighborhoods and in a few, approximately 5-6 houses. Meanwhile, while we were in Trabzon and Rize, we received a report that a citizen in Karayazı, Erzurum, was swept away by floodwaters, and we immediately directed our teams to that area. Currently, search and rescue operations for our missing citizen continue with the support of reinforcement teams from Erzurum and Rize, even though it is dark. Our AFAD teams, gendarmerie, police force, UKOME teams, and other civil society organizations, together with our Metropolitan Municipality firefighters, are conducting search and rescue operations with our citizens.’ He continued, ‘A flow of 15 centimeters of water can be dangerous.’ President Memiş emphasized that they have several requests from the citizens and especially highlighted the need to comply with the warnings given. He said, ‘When we issue a warning, they should really take it seriously and pay attention. They should stay away from stream beds. Especially in orange warnings, we make announcements from mosques or municipal announcement systems. We announce through the police force and gendarmerie vehicles. We reach all citizens individually via SMS and remind them to stay away from stream beds. This is really important. A flow of 15 centimeters of water in a strong flow can lift a person’s feet off the ground. Likewise, a flow above 35 centimeters can lift a vehicle’s wheels off the ground. People think by eye measurement that they can cross from one side to the other. However, unfortunately, they cannot and may be swept away by water. Even though they see water with vehicles, they think they can cross from one side to the other. Unfortunately, they cannot. We can say that despite these warnings, we have experienced many fatalities. Therefore, we urge our citizens to pay attention to these warnings.’ President Memiş stated, ‘All streams will be rehabilitated.’ Memiş, emphasizing that they attach great importance to risk reduction along with intervention as AFAD, continued, ‘Under the leadership of our President, with the protocol we made with our Minister of Interior and our Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, we purchased 111 excavator machines and made a protocol with the DSİ to rehabilitate Turkey’s risky streams, starting from the Black Sea Region. We are conducting mechanized works in those areas. This work has been ongoing for about one or two months. We have just received and delivered new vehicles. They are all domestic and national machinery, and they are truly doing a great job. Within at least 2 years, we plan to rehabilitate all of Turkey’s streams by at least providing material maintenance in coordination with our State Hydraulic Works General Directorate, our AFAD, with the coordination of our governors. I extend my condolences to the citizens who lost their lives in floods and inundations. I wish speedy recovery to the injured. I wish healing to our brothers and sisters who were injured as a result of the floods and inundations in Erzurum. I thank our Governor, Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, AFAD organization, and all other stakeholders here, the police force, gendarmerie, UMKE teams, 112 teams, health directorate, health teams, Red Crescent, State Hydraulic Works, General Directorate of Highways, and all my brothers and sisters in Erzurum for their cooperation.’