Forces' disaster response team almost finished in Turkey

Date: Sept. 20, 1999
Time: 2:48 pm

DART, which will celebrate the anniversary of its first mission in November, travelled to Turkey in the wake of the massive earthquake to provide medical services and deliver relief supplies. In the last month the team has provided more than 2 million litres of clean water, treated over 4000 patients and helped set up tents for more than 2500 people left homeless by the quake, which killed an estimated 15 000 people.

Capt. Jim Chung, a doctor who is part of the DART medical team, says the work is demanding and the staff of his 44-member medical platoon has been kept running, but he says personnel find it is rewarding to know that their efforts are making a difference.

"We've been basically working nonstop for about 25 days now, and its hard work," Dr. Chung told eCMAJ Today in an interview from Serdivan, 135 km east of Istanbul. "But the people here are very grateful and appreciative of our help."

The medical platoon, which is just one part of the 193-member DART team that travelled to Turkey last month, was created as a means to provide temporary medical support in areas stricken by disasters. The outside help allows local health and other services time to get back on their feet. The team's first mission, last November, was to provide support for victims of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras.

"DART has become highly visible as an entity in the past year," said Chung, "and that means the government will likely use us more and more."

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