Turkey's AFAD launches thematic disaster‑response camp in Ahlat

The Interior Ministry’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) began a five‑day thematic camp in Ahlat, Bitlis, from June 15 to 19. The event, held at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Millet Garden, hosted 411 personnel representing 76 provinces for intensive training on gathering, loading, movement, deployment, capacity building and communication.

The opening ceremony honored the memory of AFAD staff member Ömer Faruk Özkan, who died in a work‑related accident in Rize. AFAD Director General Dr. Sadi Ergin highlighted that the agency now fields 6,000 search‑and‑rescue technicians and aims to expand to 160,000 responders, noting that “in a moment of alarm we can mobilise 160 000 people.” He added that AFAD conducts roughly ten thematic camps and about seventy drills each year to improve national disaster readiness.

Local officials, including Ahlat Mayor Yavuz Gülmez and AFAD Bitlis Provincial Director Kerem Oruk, voiced support for the training, emphasizing its role in enhancing coordination, conditioning, and teamwork among disaster‑response teams across Turkey.