Turkey woke up to a disaster described as the "disaster of the century" on February 6, 2023. Major destruction occurred in Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Malatya, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Adana, Osmaniye, Diyarbakır, and Elazığ.
We have left behind one year since the earthquake disaster. Although the wounds of last year shook us, they neither reduced our pains nor made us forget our losses. We still feel the sadness and pain in our hearts as intensely as on the first day.
Due to its geological structure, Turkey is a country prone to earthquakes, and there are active fault lines in many regions capable of generating major earthquakes. The only way to avoid the destructive effects of earthquakes is to promote construction in accordance with scientific and technological data.
As our university, we have established our Emergency Disaster Commission since our establishment, and within the scope of our activities in this field, we, as AFAD volunteers, along with many academics, students, and administrative staff, have received our training. As the first university to go there after the earthquake, we mobilized all our material and spiritual resources in a serious effort to heal the wounds of the earthquake with the national consciousness and sensitivity we have demonstrated from the beginning.
On April 23, National Sovereignty and Children's Day, we distributed the gifts we brought to the earthquake-stricken children in the tent city in order to increase their motivation during the event we organized. We focused on psychosocial support efforts and provided support. In order not to interrupt the education and dreams of young people, we contacted the teachers on duty in the earthquake zone and organized a trial exam for the earthquake-stricken candidate students. In accordance with the decision determined by YÖK (Council of Higher Education), we provided scholarship quotas for earthquake-stricken candidates in all our departments, including associate and undergraduate programs.
We have started activities at our university to increase awareness of disaster consciousness and create sensitivity among our students on this issue. We organized a conference titled "The Reality of Earthquakes and What Needs to Be Done" with the participation of Earth Scientist Prof. Dr. Naci Görür. We conducted a research project on tsunami awareness developed by researchers at our university. Our academics have written many press releases to raise awareness about earthquakes and have been informed by experts about what should be paid attention to and what should be done in this field. In a coherent manner, we must always be prepared for earthquakes and learn from this great tragedy.
We hope that such a disaster and pain will not be experienced again in our country and in the world. We respectfully commemorate those who lost their lives in the earthquake and wish patience to their relatives.
