Sharing the Responsibility: Ministry of National Education’s Disaster Preparedness and Response to Kahramanmaraş Earthquake

Abstract

Disaster-resilient communities develop effective preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation strategies. Following the experience of earthquakes on February 6, the Turkish community has been questioning its resilience. This paper examined the Ministry of National Education’s five-year preparedness strategies before the earthquake and its response to the February 6 earthquakes in Turkiye. The findings revealed that the Ministry made efforts to raise awareness among the community by developing training programs and securing schools by strengthening or rebuilding facilities. The ministry’s disaster response actions were classified into five categories: education, first aid and healthcare, food and water management, search and rescue, and shelter management. Our analysis suggested that the Ministry put crucial effort into disaster education, but more was needed to reach the entire school community. Furthermore, the Ministry responded promptly to the categories of food and water management, search and rescue, and shelter management from the first day, but not in its primary responsibility of education category.