98,000-person tent stock for a city of 20 million: Istanbul faces a major risk

According to a report by İsmail Arı from BirGün, data in the Turkish Red Crescent's 2024 Activity Report reveals that citizens' access to tents in the event of a possible earthquake will be largely insufficient.

There is a tent stock for only 98,135 people in disaster warehouses across Turkey. This situation indicates that a serious housing problem could occur, especially in large cities like Istanbul, where the population is approaching 20 million.

The Turkish Red Crescent's food service capacity was announced as 1 million 18 thousand people. This capacity means that food could only be distributed to 1 million people in a large city like Istanbul.

The shared figures reveal that the current tent stock is far from meeting the needs of even a single crowded district like Esenyurt, let alone the whole of Turkey.

THE TENT CRISIS DURING THE MARAŞ EARTHQUAKE

During the Maraş earthquake that occurred on February 6, the Turkish Red Crescent's tent sales scandal drew significant backlash. Following this incident, the former president of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Kınık, was forced to resign from his post.

In the information he provided to the Turkish Parliament's Earthquake Research Commission, Kınık had stated that 130,271 tents were dispatched to the earthquake zone. However, the Turkish Red Crescent's 2023 activity report contradicted this claim, revealing that only 97,957 tents were sent. Of the tents sent, 46,238 were provided from the Turkish Red Crescent's own stocks, while 51,674 were obtained through donations.