On-Site Evaluation of Emergency Response Carried Out After Earthquakes with Epicentral Base Kahramanmaraş/ Pazarcık-Elbistan in Türkiye: An Observational Study

Abstract

Disasters are one of the complex and global problems that people around the world can face. Türkiye is one of the countries where natural disasters occur frequently. In the study, the researchers aimed to observe human behavior and post-disaster services by being in the environment where the earthquake took place and to make inferences about it. The data were collected from the provinces of Malatya, Diyarbakır, Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş and Hatay, which are the places where earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş occurred in Türkiye, between 07-15 February 2023 by observation technique. In collecting the data, an unstructured field study called "participatory observation" was carried out by using the control form created by the researchers. The data obtained from the field were coded by the researchers and the categories were reached from the codes and the themes were reached from the categories. In the study, reliability criteria were followed in the data analysis process. It was observed that efforts were carried out on issues such as providing shelter, nutrition and psychological support of search and rescue personnel, ensuring coordination between teams, strengthening communication systems, and ensuring correct information flow. It is important to ensure cooperation and coordination for the selection of appropriate personnel for search and rescue activities, the strengthening of communication systems and the effective distribution of aid.