Foreign media such as the New York Times and The Guardian reported that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that he would begin rebuilding the city from next month as many people lost their homes due to the earthquake.
Erdogan announced at a ministerial meeting of the National Disaster Management Agency (AFAD) in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, that reconstruction was one of the government’s goals. “Our goal is to start construction and residential restoration within a year,” he explained.
“I met citizens while visiting 10 provinces. The first word a citizen gave was, ‘How is your house going?’” he said.
“Turkey will start construction of 30,000 houses immediately at the beginning of next month,” he said. There is still rubble on the streets, but ambitious reconstruction plans are promised throughout the earthquake-stricken areas, The Guardian said. It is pointed out that it is a makeshift measure that is conscious of domestic public opinion in a situation where even the site has not been properly dealt with.
“This earthquake has been called ‘the catastrophe of the century’,” Erdogan said. “This is not an exaggeration,” he said. “We will fight together until the end.”
He blamed fate for the initial disaster, claiming the situation was under control. Eventually, President Erdogan admitted that there were problems with the initial response to the disaster. Analysts say that this remark is a self-rescue measure by President Erdogan to overcome the political crisis ahead of the June 18 presidential election.
ABOUT 6000 VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE IN SYRIA
According to the latest data, around 6,000 people have been killed in Syria. Syrian civil defense forces have announced that they have completed the search and rescue operations.
According to the World Health Organization, about 26 million people in Turkey and Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance after the earthquakes. The Secretary General of the United Nations also informed that he submitted a humanitarian request of around $400 million to help Syria. António Guterres added that a similar bid for Turkey will be announced soon.
Guterres discussed the issue of humanitarian aid to Syria with the US Secretary of State.
Antony Blinken noted that it is necessary to facilitate access to humanitarian aid in Syria so that the UN and humanitarian organizations can help those affected after February 6. The Secretary of State emphasized that the Syrian government should open the Bab al-Salam and Al-Rai checkpoints, if necessary, the UN Security Council will make an appropriate decision.
Earlier, the Syrian authorities agreed to initially open the Bab al-Salam and El-Rai checkpoints for 3 months, through which humanitarian aid from Turkey will be transported to the northwest of the country. Western delegations at the United Nations want to pass a resolution enshrining this reality. However, Russia does not see the need to accept such a document.
SHOCKS CONTINUE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF WORLD
Until then, tremors continue to be reported in various regions of the world.
According to mass media, earthquakes were recorded in the Caspian Sea, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Romania and other areas.
