The Presence of International Relief Teams in the 2023 Turkish Earthquake: Challenges, Strengths, and Lessons Learned

[...]approximately 55,000 houses were collapsed or severely destroyed in 11 provinces. 1–3 Actions Taken The actions taken to respond to the earthquake and reduce its effects included: rapid initial assessment by Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD [Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı]; Ankara, Turkey), calling operational forces and volunteers, conducting search and rescue operations in destroyed areas, evacuating people from disaster areas, establishing emergency accommodation camps in nearby villages and cities, preparing hot food in the disaster area and distributing it, requesting for international humanitarian aid, distributing sanitary, food, and heating items, using the capacity of mosques, shopping malls, stadiums, hotels, and accommodation centers for temporary accommodation of victims of accidents, setting up mobile kitchens in affected areas, and drinking water chlorination in around 1,500 points. Conclusion Considering the almost similar geological and seismic characteristics of Iran and Turkey, it can be beneficial to take advantage of the above cases for the policymakers, managers, and decision makers of disaster management in Iran. [...]it is recommended to use the lessons from this accident to make a comprehensive plan for how to request help, cooperate with foreign forces in possible future disasters, foreseen equipment and facilities, and create a powerful logistics system to facilitate the relief of foreign operational forces. [...]it should be tried to focus more on the preparation phase to train the people and increase the hardware and software readiness of the organizations in charge of the country’s disaster management to compensate for the existing deficiencies.