'Part of the family' Europe must stand firm with Türkiye after quakes, says civil protection chief

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - Europe must stand firm with Türkiye in the aftermath of the twin devastating earthquakes that shook its southern region earlier this month, as Ankara is both "part of the family" and the EU's civil protection mechanism, according to a senior official at that agency.

No country in the world was prepared to deal with the severity of the disaster that unfolded in southern Türkiye after the back-to-back earthquakes of Feb. 6, Pekka Tiainen, the coordinator of EU assistance in Türkiye's earthquake zone, told Anadolu.

"Türkiye is part of the civil protection mechanism as a participating state. So, Türkiye is a part of the family. It was very clear for us that Europe stand very firm and support to Türkiye in this emergency," said the European Civil Protection coordination team leader.

Tiainen said their role was to support the Turkish government to receive assistance and facilitate the team's work in the field under the leadership of local authorities to help in search and rescue efforts, as well as relief work, after the quakes that left at least 40,642 dead and over 108,000 injured in the country.

"In my coordination team, we have 30 persons. We have experts from different areas like logistics, information management, operations experts and then we have a support team helping us to work here. We have two camps, and then from that same mechanism, we have almost 1,700 rescuers, all types of emergency workers, here in Türkiye," he said.

On the cooperation between the Turkish and European teams, Tiainen said they had close relations with Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), and that part of their team was working at AFAD's headquarters in the capital Ankara.

Tiainen also emphasized that rescue efforts are organized at the central governmental level, and that they work with regional level in the most affected provinces.

"It's always the aim to do everything together with the local authorities and they are in charge of the activities. We are always under the leadership of the local authorities. Our role is to support them, whether it's rescue teams or other support means we are always under the leadership of the of the local authority," he stressed.

- 'Biggest emergency in 100 years in Europe'

Eleven of Türkiye 81 provinces were hit hardest by the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes — an area of over 108,000 square kilometers (about 41,700 sq miles).

"That is the biggest challenge we have had. It's very widely spread. There's 200 kilometers between different locations, even more, and multiple big cities.

"The population in the area is somewhere between 15 and 20 million. So it's very dense populated," Tiainen said, calling the disaster the biggest emergency in Europe in 100 years.

The disaster effort has now started moving to the recovery phase as the life-saving phase approaches its end, Tiainen noted.

- Türkiye 'part of the family'

As soon as news came of the earthquakes that rocked southern Türkiye, the Finnish official said he knew aid would be needed.

"For me, as someone coming from Finland, my immediate reaction when this happened in Türkiye, was that we need to help Türkiye not only as a Finnish and as a Finland but as Europe as a whole," he said.

"I don't think that there's any country in the world was prepared to really cope with such an emergency by themselves," he said.

Coordinating the incoming international relief has also not been easy, he noted. "We have around 8,000 international rescuers in the country, so it's also a big challenge to receive such big assistance from other countries."

In the days ahead, shelter capacity for survivors, as well as heaters, blankets, and sleeping packs would be of very critical importance in the region as will be medical facilities, added the official.