The Turkey Earthquake UKISAR deployment with Debs Swann

In this episode I am speaking with Debs Swann on her recent
deployment to the Turkey Earthquake disaster. It is the deadliest
earthquake in what is present day Turkey since the 526 Antioch
earthquake, making it the deadliest natural disaster in its
modern history. As of 20 March 2023, more
than 57,300 deaths were confirmed: more than 50,000 in Turkey,
and more than 7,200 in Syria. In Turkey alone there were at least
50,096 deaths and 107,204 injured across 11 provinces of
Turkey. By 23 February 2023, the Ministry
of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change conducted damage
inspections for 1.25 million buildings; revealing 164,000
buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged. A further
150,000 commercial infrastructure were at least moderately
damaged. At least 15.73 million people and 4 million
buildings were affected. About 345,000 apartments were destroyed.
More than 2 million residents in the affected provinces were
evacuated to nearby provinces including Mersin, Antalya, Mardin,
Niğde and Konya. More than 20 percent of Turkey's agriculture
production was damaged. The United Nations said crops, livestock,
fisheries, aquaculture and rural infrastructure were also heavily
damaged. The international organisation for migration estimated
about 2.7 million people were made homeless.





In the conversation we examine her anecdotal experience of
deploying with the UK international Search and Rescue Team near
the cities of Nurdağı and Gaziantep in Gaziantep Province,
just outside the regional capital. We examine the reflection on
cases she witnessed, the pattern of injuries, the use of search
and rescue dogs, the hot and cold brief of the group, the near
death experiences that she had and much more. Debs Swann is an
Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) working in the Cambridge
area, she is also a PHEM practitioner working with the Birmingham
care teams. Debs is also a World Extreme Medicine faculty member
and is an active member of the UKISAR team. In the episode she
reflects on her time both within the deployment and her
reflections afterward. She also reflects on her near death
experiences and how that translates to her perspectives on time
horizons.





My thanks to Debs for this candid and honest interview and her
overall insights.