The search and rescue operation after the earthquakes in Turkey will last until the last survivor is removed from the rubble, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said February 14, speaking at the Center for Disaster Management (AFAD) in Ankara.
“We will make efforts until we pull out the last citizen from the rubble,” Erdogan stressed.
According to Erdogan, about 250,000 civil servants from 71 provinces of Turkey are involved in the aftermath of the earthquake. The number of personnel directly involved in search and rescue operations exceeded 35 thousand people. Also in use are 12,335 construction vehicles, 76 aircraft and 26 ships.
The Turkish President also said that the authorities intend to allocate 100,000 liras (about $5,300) to the families of the victims of the disaster for urgent needs. In addition, already in March, the Turkish authorities will begin construction of 30,000 residential buildings in the regions affected by earthquakes. New homes will be located away from seismic fault lines. Erdogan added that the construction is planned to be completed within a year. So Turkey will be able to solve the problem of housing in the entire earthquake zone
Earlier in the day, Erdogan said the death toll from the earthquake was 35,418. Erdogan also noted that 105,505 people were injured as a result of the disaster. Given these data, the disaster was the most devastating in the history of Turkey.
On February 14, a man was rescued in the Turkish province of Hatay 203 hours after a devastating earthquake. Prior to that, in the province of Kahramanmarash, two more people were rescued from the rubble after 198 hours.
Earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 occurred on February 6 in the province of Kahramanmarash in southeastern Turkey near the border with Syria. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in Syria, a natural disaster claimed the lives of 8.5 thousand people.
