Turkish Red Crescent Society Opens Doors

Emergency Operations Center Opens with Support of American Red Cross

Written by Carol Miller, International Information Delegate

The AFOM has been outfitted like the American Red Cross disaster operation center. It is located in a Kizilay complex that also includes warehouses, a tent manufacturing facility and a vehicle fleet.

ANKARA, August 29, 2001 —  This week, the Turkish Red Crescent Society welcomed local and international officials to the unveiling of its new state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center (Turkish acronym, AFOM).

The American Red Cross supported the development of the AFOM as part of its long-term assistance and recovery efforts in response to the devastating earthquakes that shook the region in August and November 1999.

The center was designed using the American Red Cross National Headquarters Disaster Operations Center (DOC) in Falls Church, Va., as a prototype. It, operates 24 hours a day, with multiple cable lines to show national and worldwide news coverage of disasters, an overhead system that allows for large screen briefings, microphones for staff briefings during crises, office space for staff who specialize in various emergency functions, extensive radio and telecommunications equipment to allow for communications supported by emergency power sources, and residential rooms for those who train from out of town or work long shifts with little time for sleep. The AFOM, like the DOC, will provide centralized coordination of nationwide emergency planning, preparedness and response activities.

Present at the opening were (l to r): Ertan Gonen, president of TRCS; Carl Naucler, head of IFRC's Turkey delegation; Gilberto Guevara, head of the American Red Cross Turkey delegation and Hassan Asabar, Executive Committee member of the Syrian Red Crescent Society.

"Opening the AFOM is just the beginning. Once the Turkish Red Crescent Society staff are trained to use the technology, they will be even more effective in the coordination and delivery of immediate services to communities affected by a disaster," said Gil Guevara, the American Red Cross Head of Delegation in Turkey.

The AFOM is outfitted with the latest in telecommunications and computer equipment to facilitate the management of large-scale disaster operations. Automation and telecommunication equipment at Turkish Red Crescent warehouses and headquarters were also upgraded to strengthen the overall network.

Turkey is a disaster prone country most threatened by earthquakes and floods, and the AFOM is only a small part of the preparedness assistance offered by the American Red Cross. The two organizations are also working together to develop response plans and community disaster education.

The two groups are also building bridges between Turkey's seismologists and other natural hazard researchers and the humanitarian response community. The American Red Cross and Turkish Red Crescent continue to explore and develop programs and ideas to improve their response to future quakes.