AFAD

AFAD

By May 04, 2026

About AFAD: The duties and responsibilities of the AFAD can be summarized as follows: taking the necessary measures to ensure that services related to disasters, emergencies, and civil defense are effectively carried out at the national level; ensuring coordination among institutions and organizations responsible for preparedness and risk reduction before events occur, response activities during events, and post-disaster recovery efforts; conducting and coordinating humanitarian aid operations both domestically and internationally; and developing as well as implementing policy recommendations in these areas.
Role of AFAD in the Harmoni Project: AFAD plays a key role in the HARMONI project as an end-user and operational actor, directly contributing its institutional capacity in disaster and emergency management to the project. In this context, AFAD supports the development of the HARMONI platform in line with real operational needs through its existing crisis management tools, particularly systems such as AFAD-EKA. Furthermore, the institution’s data, modelling capabilities, and field experience are integrated into the project, enabling more accurate analysis and prediction of the impacts of NaTech (natural-technological) disasters .
AFAD also actively contributes to the development, testing, and validation of the project’s use cases, ensuring that scenarios especially those related to critical infrastructures and cascading effects are realistic and applicable. In addition, AFAD’s operational expertise provides essential input for the development of decision support systems, facilitating the creation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the integration of human expertise into these systems.

Web page: www.afad.gov.tr
X: @AFADBaskanlik (TR)
X: @AFADTurkiye (Eng)
Instagram: afadbaskanlik
Youtube: AFADBaskanlik

Prof. Dr. Aykut AKGÜN (HARMONİ Project AFAD Coordinator)

Prof. Dr. Aykut AKGÜN graduated in 1997 from the Department of Geological Engineering at Karadeniz Technical University, which he entered in 1993, ranking second in his class and earning the title of Geological Engineer. In 1998, he began his M.Sc. studies in the Department of Geological Engineering at the Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences of Karadeniz Technical University, which he completed in 2001, receiving the title of M.Sc. Geological Engineer.
During his master’s studies, he worked as a Research Assistant in the Applied Geology Division of the Department of Geological Engineering.
In 2001, Dr. Akgün was appointed as a Research Assistant at the Department of Geological Engineering at Dokuz Eylül University, where he worked between 2001 and 2007 and completed his Ph.D. at the Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences of the same university.
On August 15, 2007, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Applied Geology Division of the Department of Geological Engineering at Karadeniz Technical University. Between 2010 and 2012, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Middle East Technical University (GGIT Institute).
Dr. Akgün was awarded the title of Associate Professor in October 2012 and became a Full Professor in January 2018. He has held several administrative positions, including Vice Head of the Department of Geological Engineering at Karadeniz Technical University and Director of the Landslide Application and Research Center.
He has more than 100 national and international publications and has been included since 2022 in the “World’s Most Influential Scientists” list prepared by researchers from Stanford University. His publications have received over 4,000 citations, and his h-index is 20 (Web of Science). He has participated as a coordinator and researcher in numerous national and international scientific and applied projects.
Dr. Akgün is currently a faculty member in the Applied Geology Division of the Department of Geological Engineering at Karadeniz Technical University. He was assigned to AFAD in 2023 and has been serving as Head of the Earthquake Department since 2024. He also continues to serve as the Coordinator of the Mass Movements Advisory Board of AFAD.

M.Sc. Geological Engineer Filiz Tuba KADİRİOĞLU
(HARMONİ Project Use Case & Scenario Provider)

Filiz Tuba KADİRİOĞLU has been working as a M.Sc. Geologist at the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), Department of Earthquake, since 2010. Her areas of expertise include seismology, seismic data analysis, deep borehole seismic network installation and monitoring, Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) data analysis, and crustal deformation analysis using InSAR techniques.
She has contributed to numerous national and international research projects. Among the most significant are:
– Preparation of the Seismotectonic Map of Turkey
– Development of the Turkey Earthquake Hazard Map
– Investigation of the North Anatolian Fault through deep borehole observations within the scope of the GONAF Project (Geophysical Observatory at the North Anatolian Fault)
Ms. Kadirioğlu has authored and co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed publications in national and international scientific journals and has presented numerous papers at national and international scientific conferences and symposium.

M.Sc. Geological Engineer Cenk ERKMEN
(HARMONİ Project Use Case & Scenario Provider)

Cenk ERKMEN holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree from Ankara University, Department of Geological Engineering.
The topic of his M.Sc. focused on the His professional journey started in 1997 as a Geologist at the General Directorate of Disaster Affairs. He currently serves at the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) under the Ministry of Interior.
During his Professional career he served as geologist and chief of section and participated to many post-earthquake reconnaissance surveys and field investigations in Türkiye such as;

– 1999 Marmara and Düzce Earthquakes, 2005 Karlıova Earthquake,
– 2011 Van Earthquake and 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake Doublets.

His main areas of expertise encompass earthquake geology, paleoseismology and earthquake hazard and risk management. He is the Production Editor of Turkish Journal of Earthquake Research and also coordinates National Earthquake Research Fund (UDAP).

He is the author of several scientific and popular research papers focusing on earthquake geology, paleoseismology, active tectonics and has been participating to several national and international projects.