Emergency numbers and help in Turkey

The number

• Turkey consolidated all its emergency numbers into 112. Older guidebooks list 155 for police and 110 for fire. Use 112.
• English-speaking operators are available, though not instantly everywhere. Say your city first.
• Know your address in Turkish characters or have it written down. Street names are hard to convey over the phone.
• Tourism Police operate in Istanbul, Antalya and other visitor cities and are the right people for theft reports and lost documents.

Practicalities

• Report theft to the police and get the written report. No insurer pays without it, and getting one after you have flown home is not realistic.
• Photograph your passport and entry stamp and keep the copies separate.
• If you lose your passport, go to the police first, then your embassy or consulate. Most countries have a consulate in Istanbul as well as an embassy in Ankara, and Istanbul is the useful one.
• Save your insurer's 24-hour line offline with the international dialling code.
• Keep some cash accessible. Card networks go down during major incidents.

Earthquakes

• AFAD is the national agency and issues the alerts. Follow it rather than social media, which fills with old footage within minutes.
• Drop, cover and hold on. Do not run outside during the shaking; falling masonry is what injures people.
• Note your hotel's exits and stairwells on arrival. Lifts are not an option.
• Aftershocks follow for days and are often what brings down already damaged buildings.
• A power bank, a torch and shoes by the bed are the standard local precautions and cost nothing.

Summer emergencies

• Wildfires close roads and force evacuations on the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts every summer.
• Follow instructions from hotel staff and the authorities immediately. These fires move faster than people expect.
• Extreme heat warnings are issued regularly, and heatstroke is the commonest summer medical emergency among visitors.