Expected Istanbul earthquake evacuation plan includes ferries, boats

The state's emergency action plan for the long-awaited Istanbul earthquake includes city ferries and coast guard boats for sea evacuations of residents, state-owned TRT reported on April 26. Residents will also be evacuated via railways, aircraft and land vehicles.

Monday April 26 2021 02:34 pm

Duvar English

An action plan created by the Interior Ministry, the Istanbul Governor's Office and the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) includes sea evacuations to carry residents out of Istanbul in case of a disastrous earthquake, state broadcaster TRT reported on April 26.

Istanbul has long anticipated a devastating earthquake, one that is often predicted to render the city inhabitable as a result of unsafe construction and poor urban management.

The action plan was prepared in anticipation of a 7.5-magnitude earthquake to hit the 16-million-people province, and includes aircraft, land vehicles and railways as part of the evacuation.

All city ferries, "sea buses," coast guard boats and ships will be employed in the evacuation plan if needed, and the sea evacuations will be carried out through six different ferry docks in the city.

Three train stations across the city will also be used to carry out evacuations, while the three major bus terminals will be employed for bus trips out of the city.

All three airports in the city will be employed for the evacuations, and disabled residents, senior citizens, children and women will be prioritized, according to the plan.

The priority destinations for evacuations out of the megacity include the western provinces of Balıkesir, Eskişehir, Ankara, Manisa, Afyonkarahisar, Denizli and İzmir, as well as Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, Mediterranean province of Antalya, and northern province of Samsun.

If needed, the remaining Istanbul residents who were evacuated will be taken to the southern province of Adana, eastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Erzincan, Erzurum and Malatya as well as the northern province of Trabzon.