Analysing The Planning Criterias of Emergency Assembly Points and Temporary Shelter Areas: Case of İzmir-Karşıyaka

Determining the appropriate number and distribution of emergency assembly points and temporary shelter areas to be used following a disaster, as well as their technical requirements and capacity to provide services is one of the most significant concerns of urban planning and disaster management. Disaster management studies were first implemented in Izmir in 1999 with the RADIUS (Risk Assessment tools for Diagnosis of Urban areas against Seismic Disasters) Project and were advanced with the Izmir Provincial Emergency Assistance Plan issued by the governorship in 2006. Emergency assembly points and temporary shelter areas were allocated in this plan. In addition, the zmir Disaster Response Plan (IZAMP) and Turkey's National Disaster Response Plan-zmir (TAMP) were recently prepared by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). According to IZAMP and TAMP, emergency assembly points have been determined, but temporary shelter areas have not yet been decided upon and published for all districts. In this study, earlier research studies that studied assembly points and temporary shelter areas in Izmir were examined. As a case study, the location and attributes of previously designated emergency assembly points in the Karyaka district and their consistency with national and international standards were analyzed. Striking examples at the neighborhood level indicate that emergency assembly points have been made unusable due to ownership and development plan changes, construction, and lack of coordination between institutions. Political, subjective, and incremental decisions made by central and/or local governments in the absence of disaster and emergency management and urban planning activities lead to increased disaster risk despite all of the existing scientific and strategic work on disaster preparation and recovery.