Dr. Fouad Bendimerad: “We need a new vision for disaster management”

On Disaster Education and Preparation Day, November 12, as the Istanbul Planning Agency Vision 2050 team we had a conversation with Dr. Fouad Bendimerad. Dr. Bendimerad is the executive director of the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative – EMI. He has been working on disaster and risk assessment and management for more than thirty years. He has served as consultant and advisor on risk management to governments, international organizations and corporations worldwide, including the World Bank and United Nations. Through Dr. Bendimerad’s leadership, EMI implemented Urban Disaster Resilience Master Planning projects in Amman, Mumbai, Pasig, Quezon City, and Dhaka. Dr. Bendimerad also visited Istanbul right after the 1999 earthquake and contributed to the 2003 İstanbul Earthquake Master Plan.  

In our conversation moderated by researchers from the Istanbul Planning Agency Vision 2050 team, Semiha Turgut and K. Murat Güney, we discussed what should be done to improve Istanbul’s resilience to earthquakes. Dr. Bendimerad provided us detailed, concrete and positive advice on the issue.