EU MODEX Medical Exercise in Canakkale, Türkiye
A large-scale EU MODEX Medical exercise took place between 18-22 September in Canakkale, Türkiye. The exercise brought together more than 2,446 specialised medical experts from eight countries.
By Knowledge Network – Staff member
The aim of the exercise was to provide an opportunity to test and practice preparedness of medical support in a large-scale disaster scenario. Participants got to experience all phases of a real international deployment. In this case, experts found themselves having to deal with the consequences of a strong earthquake in the west of Türkiye.
Earthquake simulation
On the 16 September, a 7.2RS earthquake hit the Turkish province of Canakkale. The earthquake was felt strongly in the city centre and surrounding districts, and AFAD, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, soon declared a level 4 emergency. Key infrastructure was damaged, major hospitals in the region were severely affected, and 13,000 public and residential buildings were damaged or collapsed, with nearly 470,000 people affected and thousands requiring medical treatment. These factors convinced Türkiye to activate the UCPM and request assistance, such as medical and USAR teams.
Coordinated Response
The next three days saw participants responding quickly to events from their newly established Base of Operations (BoO). Experts worked together to cooperate and share information between teams, as well as with the national authorities.
Injured disaster victims were taken by ambulance to the airport in Canakkale and flown out by the Turkish Air Force to other provinces in Türkiye for further treatment. Medical teams from participating countries worked side by side. An Emergency Medical Team Coordination Cell (EMTCC) supporting the operations was also incorporated in the exercise. A wide range of stakeholders were involved in the exercise: Ministry of Health (MoH), AFAD, Gendarmerie, Police, Coast Guard, Harbour and Airport authorities, as well as the Regional Government of Canakkale.
Reflections and closing
An important part of a MODEX exercise is the feedback and debriefing session at the end of the event. Participants came together on 21 September to share lessons learnt and their recommendations for future exercises.
Initial feedback received following the event indicates that participants found it to be excellent. Teams were very satisfied, expressing their gratitude to EU MODEX for the very challenging and realistic international environment created and the opportunity to self-test their skills and capabilities outside their comfort area, which resulted in valuable experience and numerous lessons identified. They also appreciated the chance to bond and network with experts from other countries.
‘I am so very grateful to the consortium for their work, for the participation of international teams, and for the work that has been done for the last year to have this excellent opportunity to make sure we know what to do once disaster strikes’.
EU MODEX Medical Exercises
The World Health Organisation (WHO) EMT-Secretariat in Geneva and the WHO regional office Europe, as well as UN OCHA Geneva supported the consortium during the exercise with specific expertise.
The support from the EU Delegation and ECHO Office added value and realism and made the exercise successful for the EUCPT. The target audience for the EU MODEX Medical Exercise was medical teams, other health related response capacities, EUCPT and TAST, namely:
- Emergency Medical Team - EMT1 from Portugal INEM
- Emergency Medical Team - EMT1 from Romania Bucharest
- Emergency Medical Laboratory from Germany
- EURACARE Flight & Shelter from Slovakia
- HUMANOSH Medical Evacuation from Poland
- EUCPT and TAST (Finland)
- National capacities from Türkiye: Emergency Medical Team EMT2 and EMT1 (UMKE), and GDPH HSRMLab (General Directorate of Public Health Mobile National Public Health Laboratory).
EU MODEX
Modules table-top and field exercises – or EU MODEX as they are known - focus on the preparation of modules/other response capacities, EUCPT experts and TAST for international deployments under the UCPM. The exercise scenarios mainly consist of replicating floods, forest fires, CBRN, earthquake and medical emergencies, as well as scoping and advisory missions. Exercises can take place inside and outside the EU.
EU MODEX is also the main platform for the certification process for the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP).
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The Knowledge Network – Staff member
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