Application of the INSARAG Guidelines in the operation of the HUNOR rescue team during the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey

Abstract

The damage assessment of the earthquake that struck Turkey and northwest Syria on 6 February 2023 required international assistance, given the magnitude of the damage, the complexity of the event and its scope. Hungary sent its internationally deployable, heavy-duty official rescue team, HUNOR, to the scene, followed by volunteer rescue organisations, special teams from TEK, military medics and structural engineers. The authors examine rescue operations in accordance with the INSARAG Guidelines, which the HUNOR rescue team is obliged to follow, as they are certified as a UN INSARAG heavy search rescue team. The period from Turkey's request for international assistance to the rescue teams' departure from the country, the ad-hoc working groups set up, the units involved in the rescue and the INSARAG organisation form the backbone of the article. It is a timely topic, as UN INSARAG provides assistance in the event of a disaster anywhere in the world, if requested by the country in distress. At the end of the article, the authors discuss Hungary's vulnerability to earthquakes and suggest new, as yet untapped opportunities for preparing the population. Among the suggestions are the possibility of developing the VÉSZ app, the possibility of developing the website of the professional disaster management with a new module, the possibility of expanding the earthquake information publications and the possibility of creating a pocket earthquake booklet for children.