Strategic Cooperation Against Disaster Risks from ITU and AFAD

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences and the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) have signed a cooperation protocol for the "AFAD–ITU National Geohazard Observation and Risk Analytics Platform Project" to increase Türkiye's resilience to disasters.
Led by the Director of the Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Prof. Dr. Tolga Görüm, this project aims to strengthen scientific decision-making processes in disaster management. Thanks to the signed protocol, nature-induced (geomorphological and hydrometeorological) hazards that could threaten critical infrastructure nationwide will be continuously monitored. Advanced remote sensing technologies such as InSAR and LiDAR, along with AI-supported analyses, will be utilized together to reduce disaster risks and enhance the capacity of early warning systems.
We would like to express our gratitude to ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, AFAD President Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan, and AFAD General Director of Earthquake and Risk Reduction Prof. Dr. Orhan Tatar for their valuable contributions to the realization of this visionary project.

Our Institute Director, Prof. Dr. Tolga Görüm, who serves as the principal investigator of the project, made the following statements regarding this significant step that will increase Türkiye's resilience to disasters:

"We have taken another important step for the monitoring of geohazards and the reduction of risks in Türkiye.
With the “AFAD–ITU National Geohazard Observation and Risk Analytics Platform Protocol” signed between the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and Istanbul Technical University Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, we have implemented a new cooperation of strategic importance at the national level.
Within the scope of this protocol; a sustainable system will be developed for the dynamic monitoring, assessment, and reduction of geohazard-induced risks that may affect hospitals, schools, residential areas, dams, national highway and railway networks, airports, and other critical facilities across Türkiye.
Through the project, especially slow-moving landslides and other deformation processes will be continuously monitored by utilizing InSAR, LiDAR, and various remote sensing technologies in conjunction with AI-based deformation analytics. Thus, the early detection of hazardous surface movements, the tracking of their development, and the scientific evaluation of their potential impacts on critical infrastructure will become possible.
The acquired data and analysis results will be integrated into the AFAD Disaster Risk Reduction System (ARAS) and transferred to the infrastructure of the planned Landslide Monitoring and Early Warning Center. We aim for the system to be developed to make significant contributions not only to landslides but also to risk reduction, early warning, and resilience efforts for various geomorphological and hydrometeorological hazards.
Thanks to this platform, for the first time in Türkiye, a scientific decision support infrastructure will be established where geomorphological and hydrometeorological hazards that could affect critical infrastructure can be continuously monitored on a national scale with remote sensing technologies and AI-supported analyses. We believe that the system will directly contribute to the investment planning of public institutions, infrastructure management, disaster preparedness processes, and resilience efforts.
For their valuable support in the realization of this important cooperation, we express our most sincere gratitude to our ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, our Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Lütfiye Durak Ata, the President of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan, and AFAD General Director of Earthquake and Risk Reduction Prof. Dr. Orhan Tatar.
We thank all our institutions, researchers, and project teams, especially AFAD and Istanbul Technical University, who will contribute to the development of this national platform; and we wish it to be highly beneficial for our country."

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Tarih 24 Jul 2026

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