Natural Disasters That Occured and the Aids That Were Made in Eastern Provinces in the Republican Period (1923-1950)

Natural disasters that human beings cannot prevent they occur and cause loss of life and property according to their impact; can be listed as earthquake, flood, drought/ famine, avalanche, rock fall and epidemic diseases. From time to time, Anatolia got its share from these disasters throughout the history. In this study, the subject of casualties and destruction caused by earthquakes, drought / famine, flood and flood in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions from 1923 to 1950, and the official and civil aids made to the victims who were suffered of these disasters. The purpose of limiting the study in this way is; To reveal the attitude of the Republican People's Party Government in power against these natural disasters and their help to the disaster victims. At the end of the study, it was observed that during this period, many disasters occurred in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolian provinces that caused loss of life and property. Earthquakes were the first among these disasters. But CHP Governments tried to lick the disaster victims' wounds as soon as possible, by mobilizing all the opportunities of the state and the people in all disasters. As the best example of state-nation solidarity in this regard, especially the Erzurum earthquakes in 1924 and Erzincan earthquakes in 1939 can be given as examples. After these earthquakes, the visits of the president of the republic Gazi Mustafa Kemal and the president of the republic Ismet Inönü to the disaster areas gladdened the victims' hearts and provided quick healing of the wounds. Archive documents and other sources were used in the study.

Keywords

Natural Disasters, Earthquake, Drought/ Famine, Flood, Eastern And Southeastern Anatolian Provinces.