Known by the acronym UMKE in Türkiye, the National Medical Rescue Team began 2023 with the simple expectation of conducting drills and expanding its volunteer base. This all changed on 6 February when, at 4:17 a.m., the first of a series of earthquakes now referred to internationally as the Türkiye–Syria earthquakes struck southeastern Türkiye, impacting an area of more than 500 km² (310 mi²) and unleashing the most catastrophic disaster in the nation’s recent history. In response, UMKE mobilized fifteen thousand of its volunteers to assist the victims affected by these earthquakes.
Disasters have increased in frequency and severity over the past several decades, both globally and domestically, largely due to climate change. Türkiye is not only highly prone to earthquakes—evidenced by the Elazığ and Izmir events—but also experiences widespread wildfires that ravage extensive woodlands and recurrent floods that beleaguer the Black Sea coastal basin. The plethora of disasters faced by all of humanity, including Türkiye, highlights just how vital disaster preparedness is in confronting these both natural and human-induced disasters like war and industrial accidents. This realization only reaffirms the responsibility UMKE teams carry in humanitarian aid operations.
The existence of effective healthcare services is essential wherever people live—let alone in disaster zones. Under the auspices of Türkiye’s Ministry of Health, UMKE teams strive to be present wherever healthcare services are needed. Regardless of the conditions or locations, we provide emergency medical and rescue services to those affected by disasters and emergency situations, offering life-saving medical services to high-risk populations worldwide and supporting local health systems during their times of need. Even in the face of major disasters, we ensure that all UMKE personnel adhere to the rigorous standards our training programs seek to instill in them and are able to adapt accordingly as conditions evolve.
The potential for disasters to occur at any time and in any location, including the most remote, hard-to-reach areas, underscores how integral the ability to execute a rapid response is to post-disaster operations. Indeed, it is during the acute phase of disaster response—a brief window of opportunity measured in mere hours where lives can be saved and the spread of life-threatening diseases can be controlled—that rapid deployment is most critical. With its team of experienced volunteer health personnel, robust and ready-to-deploy logistical infrastructure, and DST EMT 2 certification, UMKE has earned a reputation for providing swift and reliable healthcare services.
The Pazarcık and Elbistan earthquakes, measuring Mw 7.7 and 7.6, respectively, impacted 13.5 million people across eleven provinces. Over fifty thousand people, including 448 healthcare professionals, lost their lives during these earthquakes and their aftershocks. The number of people suffering injuries, some of which were very severe, exceeded 100,000. Despite the difficulties posed by damaged infrastructure and harsh weather conditions, UMKE teams coordinated with other official agencies to successfully evacuate 51,665 sick and injured individuals to hospitals standing by throughout the country. Of this total, 2,580 were evacuated by air, 48,758 by land, and 327 by sea.
When Türkiye issued a level 4 appeal in response the February earthquakes, medical teams from abroad quickly mobilized and arrived at Türkiye on the third day of the disaster to assist in the response. From day one, 1,810 ambulances, 245 UMKE medical rescue vehicles, sixteen air ambulances, and 15,883 UMKE and healthcare personnel were deployed in the earthquake zone. A total of 176 emergency response units were set up in the first hours following the earthquakes to serve earthquake victims. Finally, thirty-four field hospitals, operated by twenty-three international EMTs, treated a total of 590,468 patients.
These UMKE-established field hospitals—equipped with fully operational surgical theaters and mobile tomography devices—continued providing life-saving healthcare services well beyond the departure of international EMTs from Türkiye forty days after the earthquakes. In addition to providing medical rescue services in the field among uncleared debris and operating field hospitals, UMKE teams also conducted village surveys during the acute phase of the disaster, ensuring that medical and other essential care reached the earthquake victims in those areas.
After the aforementioned training exercises proved to have a positive impact on worker motivation and discipline during emergency response operations, UMKE collaborated with WHO and several international mobile laboratory teams in Rapid Response Mobile Laboratory (RRML) exercises between 19 and 22 June. Similarly, UMKE took part in an international EU MODEX medical exercise between 17 and 22 September 2023 in the western Turkish city of Çanakkale. Joining UMKE were the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP), AFAD, and several other national organizations, as well as representatives from Portugal, Germany, Romania, and Poland.
During the EU MODEX exercise, UMKE teams were dispatched to Derne, Libya to deliver medical relief to flood victims there. UMKE established emergency response units in the immediate disaster zone while its emergency medical and rescue teams assisted local residents and other rescue personnel impacted by the ongoing disaster. UMKE also set up two field hospitals in areas that, although not directly affected by the floods, experienced severe damage to their healthcare infrastructures to ensure the uninterrupted provision of essential medical services.
UMKE was part of the AFAD-coordinated response to the September flood inundating parts of Kırklareli. UMKE worked in conjunction with national search and rescue teams and provided emergency medical services to individuals throughout the area affected.
UMKE teams sent fully equipped field hospitals, ambulances, and service vehicles to the Gaza Strip to assist Palestinian civilians injured by Israel’s relentless assault on the entire population and played a critical role in evacuating cancer patients to Türkiye for continued treatment.
As their numbers continue grow, UMKE volunteers remain dedicated to ensuring nationwide preparedness against future earthquakes and work tirelessly both in Türkiye and abroad to support disaster victims.