Local authorities have key roles in terms of proximity to provide public service effectively and efficiently. Especially the transformation in local governments with the law 6360 resulted in that the metropolitan municipalities become responsible in all areas within the provincial borders. Furthermore, strategic planning and disaster planning have been listed among the power and responsibilities of metropolitan municipalities with the scale of provinces by means of legislations. The situation required metropolitan municipalities consider disaster management in strategic plans. The aim of this article is to put forward the importance of consideration of the disasters including potential risks and threats in strategic plans systematically and collectively. For this purpose, the practices of thirty metropolitan municipalities toward disaster management in their strategic plans (2020-2024) have been examined. The data have been analyzed and compared with SPSS program. The findings have been analyzed by means of tables to make comparisons. In conclusion, it is observed that there are some deficiencies to handle disasters in strategic management approach although the awareness toward disasters is quite high in strategic plans.

In this study, by considering the relationship between disaster management and sustainable development in general, disaster management is handled with strategic management and planning approach and its roles in sustainable development are emphasized. Besides literature search, the study primarily focused on disaster management, then, through the example of Turkey, disaster management and development of disaster policy were evaluated on the basis of sustainability and strategic planning. In addition, it was emphasized that for Turkey and other countries alike, disaster management should not only be considered as an emergency event, but it should also be handled in the national strategic plans and targets with a multi-stakeholder, governance approach that includes all dimensions such as risk mitigation, intervention, improvement and reconstruction. For this purpose, it is planned to include suggestions on how common development and cooperation models should be on a national and international scale.