(Newswire.net — February 22, 2023) — Yerkin Tatishev’s Kusto Group is sending generators and tents to earthquake-hit cities in Turkey, the company writes on its Instagram profile.
On February 6th, 2023, Turkey and Syria were hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, where more than 40,000 people lost their lives. The death toll is still rising.
“Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that ensuring the survival of earthquake survivors is not an easy task. Thousands of people are now trying to survive. At night, the temperature in that region is below zero. Most of the victims have no shelter, drinking water, fuel, electricity, and communication,” Kusto Group writes.
Therefore, the Yerkin Tatishev-led holding company is collecting humanitarian aid that will be sent to Gaziantep, Turkey, which has been heavily damaged by the earthquake.
Within a few days, a cargo plane containing eight generators and four tents will leave Almaty, Kazakhstan, and depart for Turkey.
The tents that Kusto Group sends are called yurts and are normally used by nomads in Turkey, among other places.
“Taking into account the extremely cold weather in the affected regions, it is clear that the more yurts Kazakhstan sends, the better. Traditional yurts are best suited for providing temporary shelter to victims. Building a yurt is easy and quick, warm, durable and reliable,” the holding company writes.
In another donation, citizens of Kazakhstan have collected more than 20 million tenges for yurts in Turkey.
Kusto Group: “Together, we can help many people”
Through Kusto Group’s Kusto Help fund, people can contribute and donate money to earthquake-hit Turkey.
This can be done in the Kaspi app, where you will find Kusto Help by searching for it in the app’s “payments” section.
“Every 50 and 100 tenge is important. Together, we can help many people,” Kusto Group writes.
Bringing earthquake safety to Kazakhstan
Murat Utemisov, who is the CEO of Kusto Group’s construction division, Kusto Home, hopes that the earthquake in Turkey and Syria becomes a lesson for residents and authorities in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The city is located in an area prone to be hit by earthquakes and is home to Kusto Group’s Koktobe City project.
It is a city within a city where the buildings are constructed to be able to withstand earthquakes.
As the first project in Kazakhstan, it received a Japanese expert certificate on earthquake safety.
“We are the first in the country and, perhaps, the only ones who built a residential complex that received a Japanese earthquake resistance certificate, since this is a strategic issue for Almaty,” Murat Utemisov says.
He hopes that more attention will be brought to Almaty when it comes to earthquake safety.
“We need information campaigns, seismic exercises, and preparations for the elimination of the consequences of the earthquake. We do not have clear rules in case of emergencies: how residents of the upper floors of high-rise buildings should react, how children should behave in kindergartens and schools etc.,” he says and adds:
“It is necessary to tighten control over construction by the state at the level of the law to establish the developer’s responsibility for the quality of construction in the long term – for several years ahead. There are fears that there are new buildings in Almaty that require an examination for seismic resistance and, if necessary, strengthening.”
Kusto Group: “Kazakhstan’s government should adopt earthquake program”
Kazakhstan should be more prepared for earthquakes if it was up to the Kusto Home CEO.
“I believe that the leadership – not only the local leadership of Almaty, but also the government, given that Almaty is the financial, economic, and, to some extent, the political center of the country, should adopt a state program for seismic strengthening, preparation for emergencies and elimination of the consequences of an earthquake in the city,” he states.
“Only two million people officially live here. Half a million more enter here every day. I think the state should allocate the necessary funds to strengthen schools, hospitals, and office buildings, no matter how large they may be. Determine places where Almaty residents will be able to go in case of a devastating earthquake,” Murat Utemisov adds.
He believes that such an initiative should cover all aspects of earthquake preparation.
“This should be a large-scale state program that will cover the processes of preparing the population, rescue organizations, building codes and regulations for possible earthquakes, and response processes. This requires a comprehensive approach, the head of which should be priorities for saving human lives. Of course, the construction industry cannot stand aside in this matter,” Murat Utemisov explains.