Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited areas affected by the devastating earthquake on 6 February and delivered new homes to those affected on the eve of the first anniversary of the earthquake.
Speaking at a key handover ceremony for 10,698 post-earthquake homes in Gaziantep on Sunday (Feb. 4), Erdogan said: "Turkey is rapidly healing the wounds of the catastrophe of the century by demonstrating the unity of the century. ”
The President mourned the memory of the more than 53,000 citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake and stressed that the authorities have been working uninterrupted to rebuild the earthquake zone. Just in Gaziantep, the construction of nearly 14,000 houses is proceeding rapidly.
Erdogan also attended the opening ceremony of the Gaziantep City Hospital, at which he vowed that "Turkey will not rest until the infrastructure, superstructure, city centers and rural areas of the earthquake-stricken cities are fully restored."
On Friday, Erdogan visited the city of Hatay, the city hardest hit by the natural disaster and the deadliest city. In the coming days, he will also visit Kahramanmaraş, Shanlıurfa, Adiyaman and Elazě for important handover ceremonies.
The earthquake that struck 124 districts, 7,000 villages and communities in 11 cities on February 6, 2023, affected 14 million people and killed more than 53,000 people.
Speaking at the post-earthquake handover ceremony in Hatay on Friday, Erdogan said: "With the construction and on-site renovation of new residential areas in Hatay city and other earthquake-affected cities, we will provide all legal owners with their homes or workplaces." Our citizens can rest assured and trust us and their country on this issue. ”
At the handover ceremony, a total of 7,275 post-earthquake houses were delivered to the owners.
Erdogan then said at the opening ceremony of the Hatay Training and Research Hospital and the Iskenderun Public Hospital that their goal was to restore all the cities affected by the earthquake as soon as possible, especially Hatay.
"We have deployed almost all of the country's forces to the earthquake-stricken areas," Erdogan said. Although we have encountered various setbacks and difficulties, we have never deviated from this goal. ”
Members of the national and international media visited the reconstruction work in the earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey
Under the coordination of the Turkish Communications Agency, members of 16 national and foreign media visited the earthquake-stricken area of Kahramanmaraş.
Provincial Governor Mukerem Yunlul briefed 16 members of the press at the Disaster Coordination Centre, including nine from Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands, the United States and Russia, and seven from Turkey.
Recalling the huge disaster experienced by the city and the region a year ago, Yunluer said: "At the moment 25% of the buildings are no longer fit for use. Azerbaijan Avenue and adjoining Trabzon Street are the most damaged, but most valuable areas of the city. We're not changing anything here, everything is being rebuilt in place. We just build the complex according to science and ground conditions. We are reducing the number of floors and choosing 4-5 floors instead of 8-10 floors. ”
"Our goal is to revitalize the urban center, and we do not intend to build houses in the suburbs and relocate owners," he concluded. ”
During the event, the Provincial Head of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD), Taiphon Temur, gave a briefing on the work, and finally the Governor of Yunlur answered questions from reporters.
Subsequently, the journalists visited the houses built by the Housing Development Authority of the Republic of Turkey in the residential area of Ferhus, Durkadiroglu district.
The journalists visited the Umut Container City, visited the services provided to earthquake victims, and interviewed citizens.