The comparative analysis via social perception of Turkey's provision policy for catastrophies : example of Van- Bitlis

In this study, it is aimed to comparatively explore the disaster preparation polices in Turkey with regard to public perception. In this context, Van and Bitlis was chosen for the case study in order to determine and compare the effectiveness of the disaster preparation policies and the public awareness of the activities executed according to those policies in a city recently struck by a natural disaster (2011 Van earthquake) and in a city without one in the recent memory (Bitlis). The statistical population of the research was the university employees in both cities as the sample group was composed of the employees participated by the simple coincidental volunteering. The study began with discussing the concept of disaster, then discoursed on disaster policies of Turkey and the susceptibility of Van and Bitlis to disasters, and finally analyzed obtained data. In addition to deterministic statistics; factor, correlation, t-test, and ANOVA was performed for the data. The results indicated the in sufficiency of preparation policies in Turkey for the sample group.