Renovated after the 2020 İzmir Earthquake with the support of İnci GS Yuasa, the center in Manisa, which continues its activities under the name “AKUT Mert Küçükyumuk Logistics Center”, has completed its second year of focusing on issues such as preparing for natural disasters, especially earthquakes, conducting an effective process in times of disaster and raising public awareness.
AKUT Mert Küçükyumuk Logistics Center has been pursuing its activities for two years with the support of İnci GS Yuasa, which continues its contributions in the social field with the goal of “saving lives”. Renovated on October 30, 2020 with the aim of repairing the damage inflicted by the earthquake that occurred in İzmir, raising public awareness about disasters and taking concrete steps in this regard, AKUT Mert Küçükyumuk Logistics Center has touched hundreds of lives by lending a helping hand to those affected by disasters in the nearby region for two years.
Life-Saving Activities by AKUT and İnci GS Yuasa
İnci GS Yuasa focuses on activities that will contribute to the society with the mission of “saving lives”. In this context, the company continues to provide sustainable support to AKUT, Turkey’s first search and rescue NGO, and sets an important example of private sector-NGO partnership. İnci GS Yuasa, which keeps the issue of earthquake preparedness on its agenda especially in light of the recent natural disasters that occurred in our country, plays a meaningful role in times of disaster as the energy sponsor of AKUT.
Named after Mert Küçükyumuk, an İnci GS Yuasa employee who lost his life in the İzmir Earthquake, AKUT’s Manisa campus has rescued 74 citizens and 4 animals in 13 operations and evacuated 60 citizens in the last year. Again, in the last year, it has participated in 4 separate drills; in addition to these, it has given “Disaster Awareness” seminars to 260 adults, 686 students and 31 teachers/lecturers in 17 sessions. AKUT Manisa team currently has 73 volunteers.
Elbirlik: “Being prepared saves lives in an earthquake”
Emphasizing the vital importance of being prepared for natural disasters following the devastating earthquakes in and around Kahramanmaraş in February, Cihan Elbirlik, Deputy Chairman of İnci GS Yuasa, made the following statement: “It is our duty and responsibility as a society to heal the wounds inflicted by natural disasters. However, the critical issue here is to be prepared and aware before disasters occur. As İnci GS Yuasa, we are carrying out a very valuable partnership with AKUT in order to contribute to social areas as we contribute to the development of our sector. We continue our work without slowing down to increase disaster awareness, to ensure that volunteering activities are carried out by people equipped with the right information and to prevent sad incidents before they happen. Last month’s earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş have once again shown that it is of great importance to be prepared and planned for earthquakes. As a company, we will continue to contribute at this point both with our colleagues and with the activities we carry out with AKUT.”