EU: Civil protection essential

The officials from the EU Community Mechanism for Civil Protection urged Turkey to set up its own permanent institutional Civil Protection Mechanism on a permanent institutional scale. The officials indicated that 7 out of 10 people in Turkey lived in the earthquake zone and stressed the need for setting up an institution aimed at responding to natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and forest fires quickly and effectively, as well as their readiness to cooperation. In a written statement, the Delegation of European Commission to Turkey said that the EU would provide Turkey with logistic and equipment aid, extend aid materials to those who have lost their houses and offer satellite information support to government institutions with regard to pre- and post-emergency aid operations management following the devastating earthquake in the eastern province of Van. After Turkey's decision to accept international aids, England, France, Japan, Switzerland, Israel, Kazakhstan and Ukraine took decision to offer aid Turkey yesterday evening.