Humanitarian disaster logistics, an analysis of Bayrampasa district

Throughout human history natural disasters have caused serious damages resulting in physical, economic and social losses. The Kocaeli Earthquake that occurred on 17 August 1999 was a turning point for our country. Taking place at a location where the country's industry was concentrated and with a dense population, the earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter Scale, caused death of more than 15,000 people and damaged more than 77,000 buildings. Search and rescue efforts were seriously hampered by the confusion and lack of information resulting from damaged communication lines, collapsed bridges and affected governmental buildings that had not withstood the earthquake. Psychological problems continued even though the physical effects of the earthquake were largely overcome, and for a long time people were unable to escape the psychological effects of the quake, choosing to live in prefabricated houses. But these people who chose to live in prefabricated houses experienced problems with access to infrastructure and superstructure services such as healthcare and schools. The 7.2 earthquake was not the only cause, in fact. It was a combination of factors including mistakes in planning approaches, buildings built without inspection and not adhering to standards, inappropriate foundations etc. The fact that fewer losses occur when similar-sized earthquakes hit advanced countries with high population densities proves that we need to improve our planning approaches as well as our consciousness and awareness of natural disasters. The effects of natural disasters can be reduced by taking legal, technological and scientific precautions in addition to legislative and administrative work. The rapidly increasing population and associated housing problems can be overcome by taking the necessary legal action and increasing our natural disaster awareness and preparedness. It has been seen that the policies aimed at reducing the losses caused by natural disasters and implemented thanks to international collaborative efforts such as the "International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction" (1990-1999), the "Millennium Declaration" (2000), the "United Nations General Assembly" (2003) and the "Hyogo Framework Action Plan, 2005-2015" have contributed to a worldwide increase innatural disaster awareness. In our country several key projects have been put into effect such as the Disaster Prevention/Mitigation in Istanbul Including Seismic Microzonation Foundation Plan (the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA report), the Marmara Earthquake Emergency Reconstruction (MEER) Project and others. The information obtained as a result of these efforts will ensure that projects will turn theory into practice and achieve their desired goals. Action here should be taken aware of the fact that Turkey, unfortunately, is going to be hit by frequent disasters given the geographical conditions of the region where it is located. Natural disasters are not limited to physical destruction in their effects. More than this, they are accompanied by adverse psychological, economic and political effects as well. This is why it is imperative for our people that the cycle of risk and damage mitigation-preparedness-intervention-healing operates flawlessly so that when natural disasters happen they do so with zero or minimum losses. For relief operations to be effective it is essential that humanitarian relief can be delivered where it is needed under the best of conditions and as timely as possible. Consequently, logistics activities occupy a critical place in humanitarian relief operations and disaster management. In terms of meeting the humanitarian relief requirements that will emerge as a result of the major earthquake expected to hit the entire Marmara Region including Istanbul, the Bayrampaşa District, which has been selected as the topic for this study, is a strategic location in that it is home to the Grand Istanbul Railroad Station, key highway intersections and the Hal, which meets a significant proportion of the European Side's fresh fruit and vegetable requirements. By carrying out questionnaire surveys with the District's public authorities covering communications, haulage, storage, infrastructure, rubble removal, temporary housing and coordination with outside agencies, this study analyzes the accessibility to and services provided by those hospitals and storage depots that will be of critical importance in any natural disaster given the many years of unchecked and unsound construction. In the First Chapter, the purpose and objectives of the study is explained, the process of creating the current bases of the technique-mapping applications is addressed. The spatial organization of Disaster Logistics is currently being built on a regional scale. In order to ensure that this high-level build functions effectively after the disaster, at the low scales (locally), spatial organization, which supports this build, should be developed before the disaster. In creating such a system, as well as spatial properties and potentials, the perception and viewpoint of the managerial structure which is responsible for the functioning of this system are gaining importance. The attachment method and process of the lowest units of the system to this hierarchical fiction also need to be defined according to the existing authorities and responsibilities. The assessment of the County of Bayrampaşa in the context of disaster logistics includes the lowest-scale analysis of the Project of the "Spatial Hierarchical Structuring of Disaster Logistics" which is supported by the TÜBİTAK 1001. Based on this context, the assessments have been made on how the hierarchical approach, which has been used in regional system analysis, could be structured in the county and neighborhood scale. In the Second Chapter, the features that distinguish disaster logistics from commercial logistics, the theoretical structure and concepts of disaster logistics have been addressed. In addition, by examining the literature used in the past studies, the concepts frequently used in the study are explained. In the Third Chapter, the structures which are related to institutions and legislation that are creating disaster management organizations in Turkey and İstanbul are included. The logistics centers, which are determined in Turkey's Emergency Response Plan for various disaster effects, and the points that Istanbul can take/deliver support for research and rescue efforts have been visualized by a variety of maps. Besides providing information about structures of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, the Disaster Coordination Center, the institutions and organizations of the Red Crescent; the titles of water supply and hygiene standards of the Red Crescent and the Sphere Project are discussed. In the Chapter Four, where the original field studies are included, the information related to the geographical location, transportation systems, population, economy, health facilities are included in order to enable the disaster logistics efforts in the County of Bayrampaşa to be effective and to determine the dynamics of the working area. In the surveys conducted with the institutions dealing with disasters, the issues such as professional periods, disaster risk perception, strong and weak aspects in disaster logistics, whether there is a digital or manual system for disaster (for example people living in damaged buildings and their numbers), institutions can deliver or expect support, cooperating institutions, accommodation in disaster, the number of people they need health, food, clothing to be met during a disaster, information on tools and equipment for disaster recovery have been addressed. Thanks to the data obtained from the survey results, the problems experienced are detected. The risk assessments of the County Governorate, the Fire Brigade, the County Police Headquarter and the Red Crescent, which are the competent institutions related to the disaster in the County, and the risk perceptions of local authorities for earthquake, flood, landslide, industrial accidents are mapped. With the processing of road information in the GIS program, provincial distribution point, district distribution point, and neighborhood distribution points are determined and determinations are made about the accessibility of the assembly points. The warehouse points selected according to their accessibility, area and proximity to governance units were identified in 11 neighborhoods and network analyst was applied to increase the efficiency of distribution points. The original maps based on 40 km/h and 15 km/h scenario speeds, service areas and routes based on 5 km/h speed including the scenario where the roads are closed are determined. In the conclusion part, within the scope of disaster logistics, the suggestions for resolving possible disaster situations are given by studying the determination of the spatial organization parameters and process necessary for the disaster logistics to function effectively in the face of the disasters that the settlements in the center of the County might be exposed to, and it is aimed to improve the understanding of planning and execution of logistics operations in disaster aids of the County of Bayrampaşa and to create the holism by applying this studies made on the basis of the County in the other counties.