Determining disaster assembly areas after an earthquake: The case of Malatya central district

Turkey is frequently exposed to earthquakes due to its location on active fault zones. One of the measures that can be taken to reduce the effects of earthquakes is to designate disaster assembly areas. These areas are of great importance in ensuring safety and minimising the effects of disasters in the aftermath of a disaster. In this context, within the study area defined as the districts of Yeşilyurt and Battalgazi, which form the central part of Malatya Province, there are 16 assembly areas for 186 neighbourhoods. In addition to the existing assembly areas, 15 alternative assembly areas have been proposed within the scope of this study. A total of nine parameters were determined to evaluate the suitability of assembly areas: distance from faults, geological structure, slope condition, distance from rivers, distance from roads, distance from buildings, distance from health centres, population density, and distance from transformers. These parameters were evaluated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process method. In addition to the alternative assembly areas, the existing assembly areas were also evaluated based on these parameters to determine their suitability. As a result of the analyses, 79.24% (1,424 km²) of the study area covers suitable areas, while less suitable areas account for 16.08% (289 km²). The most suitable areas for assembly areas constitute 4.12% (74 km²) of the total area. Among these areas, only 2 of the existing collection areas and 6 of the proposed alternative areas are located. In contrast, unsuitable areas cover 0.56% (10 km²) of the site, and no collection areas are present within these areas.