ITU and Bursa Nilüfer Municipality Signed a Cooperation Protocol

“Disaster Monitoring and Management Systems Cooperation Protocol” was signed between Istanbul Technical University Disaster Management Institute and Bursa Nilüfer Municipality for precautions to be taken before and after earthquakes and minimization of risks.

Nilüfer District Municipality at Bursa, one of Turkey’s cities with highest risk in terms of earthquakes, is collaborating with Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in order to minimize risks and to implement disaster management systems scientifically. The protocol that formalized the cooperation between the two institutions was signed at Nilüfer Municipality Community Center Building.

 Speaking about the protocol, Istanbul Technical University Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Bülent İnanç said, “Our university is an institution that has been producing the technology and knowledge needed by our country and making contributions for a very long time. Today, within the framework of the protocol we signed with Nilüfer Municipality, we actually want to transfer our university’s experience. This way, we will contribute to our society, to our nation. We see this contribution as a duty. In this regard, we are very happy. I would like to express that, with this protocol we signed in order to increase our precautions against disasters and to decrease damages after a possible disaster, we will make all the contribution we can as a university.”

 Turgay Erdem, Mayor of Nilüfer, said, “The protocol we signed today aims to increase the resilience to disasters, to reduce possible disaster damages and to use the emergency response capacity effectively in Nilüfer with the support of ITU. At the same time, this protocol includes revision of the network of monitoring systems, the first of which was established by our municipality in 2007 and whose number reached 22 today; the co-working conditions of the parties in research, development, training, test and implementation phases on collection, scientific processing, and forecasting of the data obtained from this network, risk management, planning, disaster and emergency management; and studies for determining the principles for administrative and financial coordination of processes.”

 Stating that with this cooperation, stations monitoring precursory earthquake signs will now provide data not only on earthquakes but also on predictions related to other disasters such as storm and hail, Mayor Erdem said, “These stations will also guide our municipality in predicting natural disasters in our region and taking measures based on the data to be obtained from atmospheric sensors. So, we will have the chance to inform the authorities and the public. ITU Disaster Management Institute will also be able to provide us with official reports on disaster forecasts. This is an important detail as the official report will be a document for our farmers who suffer during natural disasters.”

 A delegation including Disaster Management Institute Director Prof. Dr. Ercan Yüksel, Prof. Dr. Burak Berk Üstündağ and Dr. Hikmet İskender made examinations at the Nilüfer District Disaster and Emergency Management Center after the signing ceremony.