The Head of Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) Faculty of Education Department of Secondary Education Social Fields Geography Education Prof. Dr. Cevdet Yilmaz was the guest of the season titled "West Black Sea Flood and Overfloow Disasters in the Context of Climate, Migration and Settlement Problems", organized by OMU Environmental Problems Research Center (ÇEVSAM) under the supervision of Center Director Prof. Dr. Yüksel Ardalı.
In the event organized within the scope of OMÜ ÇEVSAM Talks, Prof. Dr. Cevdet Yılmaz gave information about the causes and consequences of the flood disasters in the area from Sinop Ayancık to Kastamonu Bozkurt on August 11, 2021, briefing about climate change, flood and overflow risks of rivers, new trends in internal migration, establishment of settlements in wrong places, the problems experienced today related to the subject and what awaits us in the future.
In their speech, Prof. Dr. Cevdet Yılmaz stated that the floods in the region were not the first, there were floods in the past, but since these were not recorded or cared for by people or administrators, an impression was put forward as if these floods were just beginning to appear. He noted that there was an attempt to establish a link between the flood disasters and global climate changes, but as evident in the floods of 1931, 1963 and 1964 in the Ayancık region, floods caused great destruction in the region in the past as well.
Giving information about the geographical structure of the region, Prof. Dr. Yılmaz said, “This region is already one of the places that receives the most precipitation in Turkey after the Eastern Black Sea Region. Considering that Bozkurt, Türkeli and Ayancık district centers are built on valley floors or narrow creeks where streams reach the sea, they are to be affected by floods. As a matter of fact, Çatalzeytin and Abana district centers in the same area were not affected by floods or overflows as they developed on slopes parallel to the coast, not in the valley."
Stating that he regrets the loss of lives during the flood and overflow, Prof. Dr. Cevdet Yılmaz stated that the settlement pattern in the region and the population movements that force it should be followed closely so that these events do not recur. Stating that as a result of the retired population in Turkey returning from the city to the countryside, intensive construction zones have emerged in district centers such as Ayancık, Türkeli and Bozkurt and pointed out that the demand which expands beyond valley floors did so towards the floodplains of rivers and when that is not enough, apartment building is observed. Stating that the triple lifestyle between the village, the district center and the big city has become widespread, Yılmaz stated that for the solution of the problem, the ties with the rural areas should be strengthened, and if the access to the health infrastructure was facilitated and the ways to stay in the countryside for a longer period of time were to be opened, the construction pressure in the district centers could be reduced.
Stating that good examples of state-nation cooperation were displayed during the flood disaster, Yılmaz said “The state was on the field and never left. There was no disruption in the coordination of aids and the efforts to heal the wounds through visits by the Ministers. Bridges were destroyed, roads were closed, but the most remote villages were reached by air transportation by helicopters. Our Armed Forces sent their soldiers and our soldiers played a great role in healing the wounds of the citizens, repairing the destroyed places, removing the debris and cleaning the environment and won the appreciation and love of the citizens. The sea route we forgot was rediscovered during this flood. While our expats, whose holiday season was over, were evacuated by ferry docking at Güzelkent Port, construction equipment was delivered to the region with a landing craft.” he said.
Stating that although there should be no hurry to connect the flood disasters to the changing climatic conditions, Prof. Dr. Cevdet Yilmaz pointed out that concerns about climate will play an important role in the future of the region, and continued their words as follows; “Global climate changes will affect our climate comfort in terms of warming in winters and cooling in summers. The warming air will start from our southern provinces to direct people to the north or higher places. One of the target regions for Turkey will be this area where floods and overflows are experienced, for the region will be a center of attraction in the near future with its mild climate, rich vegetation and unspoiled nature. For all this, we need to be more sensitive to the settlement problems that we will encounter both today and in the future, and we need to find solutions today. Otherwise, we must accept the fact that the pressure to build on the plateaus in the Eastern Black Sea region will also begin in this region, and that people want to continue their lives in different places throughout the year, not in one place but say in a second and even a third house, and we have to find solutions accordingly.”
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