Istanbul is highly vulnerable to a major earthquake due to its dense urban structure and large population, which makes the city particularly fragile. In the first phase of the Disaster-Focused Digital Twin Project, the goal is to identify collapsed or damaged buildings using satellite imagery. This will provide a real-time map of areas most in need of urgent intervention.
In the second phase, the challenge is to ensure the most effective deployment of search and rescue teams and vehicles to these areas. This is a highly dynamic problem because teams vary in size, capacity, skills, location, and available equipment. After the initial earthquake, new teams, including local, international, and volunteer units, may join the system, while exhausted teams may be withdrawn. Aftershocks can also lead to additional building collapses, requiring continuous reassignment of resources. Efficiently coordinating all these factors under rapidly changing conditions is a complex logistical challenge.
As one of Istanbul’s most densely populated districts, Bağcılar is highly vulnerable to disasters such as potential earthquakes, floods, or industrial accidents. Our current disaster response plans are largely static and reactive, meaning they are activated after a disaster occurs. However, the chaos that would ensue during a disaster (collapsed roads, communication breakdowns, instant population movements) could quickly render these static plans ineffective. Our fundamental challenge is the inability to manage our limited resources (fire brigades, ambulances, search-and-rescue teams, construction equipment) in the most efficient way during and immediately after a disaster, and to provide our citizens with instant, accurate, and life-saving information.
