Disaster and crisis management in Turkey: a need for a unified crisis management system

Purpose - Crisis management has gained importance in the policy agendas of many countries around the world due to the increases in the number of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Thus, this paper has two purposes. The first is to illustrate how the Turkish Government's Disaster and Crisis Management System has been developed. The second purpose is to make a qualitative evaluation of the current disaster and crisis management systems. Design/methodology/approach - Literature review shows that the disaster and crisis management system in Turkey has been developed after tragic events. The paper examines what kinds of initiatives were introduced and what is the trend in shift. After analyzing recent cases and exploring some government initiatives, alternative approaches and suggestions were included. Findings - Turkey has developed its disaster and crisis management system since 1930, which mostly depended on experiences. The current disaster and crisis management system is governed by a centralized structure which is the responsibility of different ministries. Nonetheless, the system is very weak at local level. Furthermore, participation of non-profit organizations is very limited at both national and local levels. Thus, coordination and management of first-response operations during crises are problematic and ineffective. Particularly, the system is not designed for different types of crises such as terrorist attacks. Practical implications - Crisis management in Turkey needs a more unified and flexible structure to deal with current problems effectively. Further suggestions for better implication are also provided Originality/value - The effectiveness of the disaster and crisis management system is analyzed in natural and man-made disasters. Findings show that centralized and decentralized systems have different functions in different situations.