Young Red Crescent Beyoğlu's February 6 Earthquake Process

We talked with Sevde Çevik, Vice President of the Young Red Crescent Beyoğlu Organization, about the activities they carried out during the February 6, 2023 earthquake.

According to the data announced by AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency), two earthquakes with magnitudes of Mw 7.7 (8.6 km deep) and Mw 7.6 (7.6 km deep) occurred on February 6, 2023 at 04:17 and 13:24 local time, with epicenters in Pazarcık (Kahramanmaraş) and Elbistan (Kahramanmaraş).

On February 6, 2023, which we started with the enthusiasm of celebrating the 100th anniversary of our Republic, we were shaken by consecutive earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, Pazarcık and Elbistan, which had great effects especially in the eastern provinces of Turkey. With the heavy destruction it caused on the East Anatolian Fault Zone, we were faced with consequences that we felt as a whole country, especially in 18 of our cities, in terms of direct effects, and that even future generations will feel in terms of indirect effects.

We spoke with Zeynep Sevde Çevik, the vice president of the branch organization, who is a university student and has been devoted to the activities of the Red Crescent Beyoğlu for 7 years, about the paths and activities followed by the Red Crescent, which has been carrying out its work since the first day of the earthquake.

1. What was the first thing you did after hearing the news of the earthquake?

I woke up from my sleep with the call of our bube organization president Murat Varıcı. When I looked at my phone afterwards, I was told that we had to gather in all groups at the branches. After I came to, I looked at the earthquake moments and news about the earthquake on X and Instagram. After getting ready quickly, I went to the Beyoğlu branch. We had a short and quick meeting with the friends who came to the branch about the evaluation of the earthquake situation and the aid we would provide, the team that would go to the earthquake area, and the ready aid materials that were available at the branch with the team.

2. How did you plan your work?

   
   

As soon as we arrived at the branch, our organization head Murat Varıcı contacted all our volunteer groups. We talked about the path we would follow with the friends who would come, and made plans. Our branch has 4 floors. We have a warehouse on the ground floor. There are brand new clothes and many supplies that came for help in the warehouse. We planned how we would pack the supplies before our volunteers arrived and took notes on paper. More than 100 volunteers gathered at the branch. We distributed tasks equally on the floors. First, the supplies and other necessary materials in the branch were counted one by one, and when their counts were completed, the supplies that came to the branch for the earthquake zone, which started to arrive as brand new, were counted. After all the counts were completed, the supplies and clothes were carefully packed one by one according to the lists. After the boxes were carefully packed, they were loaded in between the boxes after the count was completed and sent to the Disaster Intervention Center in Tuzla to be sent to the earthquake zone.

3. Which organizations did you receive help from for your relief activities?

A lot of new clothes and supplies came from the people around us. Other than that, we generally needed boxes. Since our branch is very close to Taksim, we received help for boxes from LCW, Koton, Defacto and other clothing stores in Taksim. In addition to boxes, some stores also gave us new clothes that were surplus for export. Some shopkeepers close to our branch made food boxes from their own shops and sent them.

4. What method did you follow to accelerate the work?

In order to gain speed, we generally acted according to our president's plans. We made continuous plans and took care to comply with that plan together. We got faster reactions with task distributions. Our work accelerated because we gave everyone certain tasks and did them meticulously. The fact that we had a large number of people, arranged our breaks in rotation and worked in shifts was one of the points that accelerated us.

5. How did you respond to the criticisms that came as an organization?

Since we receive criticism for every aid activity we do, this is something we have become accustomed to. Despite the criticism, our priority is always to focus on our duties, so our priority during the earthquake was our duties. The criticism does not discourage us because, in addition to the criticism, we draw strength from the warm smiles on people's faces. We did the same during the earthquake. The warm smiles and glimmer of hope on people's faces in the photos from our friends in the region allowed us to ignore the criticism and speed up our work.

6. What stance should be taken in the event of a natural disaster?

We generally adopt a calm and solution-oriented stance in situations such as natural disasters. Since our goal is to reach a lot of people faster, we try to stay calm and find solutions for them quickly. Of course, we empathize and feel that pain, but since our first goal is to find a solution, we try to keep our cool. The coolness you will display in times of natural disasters and focusing on the solution will always help you react faster.