Istanbul quake drill exposes ‘readiness gaps’ amid growing seismic threats

ISTANBUL

Istanbul has hosted a major earthquake preparedness drill, involving health teams from 16 of the country's 81 provinces, to simulate the aftermath of a large-scale disaster and uncover critical gaps in emergency preparedness.

As part of Istanbul’s health disaster action plan, the two-day exercise aimed to test the city's health disaster response capabilities through a realistic scenario of widespread destruction.

Following the drill, the provincial health director, Abdullah Emre Güner, issued stark warnings about the city's preparedness.

"Everything looks great when we present our plans. But when we moved into field operations, we immediately realized our shortcomings once more," Güner said.

"Istanbul is a city of 16 million people and produces 40 percent of the country’s healthcare services. In such a place, we must implement a model where the city can completely sustain itself within the first 12 hours following a major earthquake.”

He emphasized that true resilience lies in creating a healthcare system that can operate reflexively, without waiting for orders. "Each province coming to support must know exactly where they will be assigned and in which hospital unit they will work — before the disaster strikes, not after," he added.

The drill took place amid ongoing aftershocks in Istanbul following the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the megacity on April 23. Additional minor earthquakes were also recorded in the eastern province of Elazığ on April 27 and the western province of Kütahya on April 28, intensifying concerns about the growing seismic risks throughout Türkiye.

Referring to the recent 6.2 magnitude earthquake, Güner warned that it served as a stark reminder of the seismic threat facing the region.

"You cannot prevent destiny, but if you fail to take precautions, the burden of every life lost will weigh heavily on your shoulders," he said.

Speaking after the exercise, Istanbul’s deputy governor Mahmut Hersanlıoğlu also stressed that the goal of such drills is not to declare success but to identify vulnerabilities before disaster strikes.

Approximately 1,826 healthcare personnel took part in the drill, alongside 30 hospitals, 10 family health centers, 7 district health directorates, a field hospital and numerous mobile teams. In the scenario, 250 injured individuals were rescued from debris and transferred to hospitals across the city.