Türkiye: Half Million Homeless in Kahramanmaras After Quakes

Türkish President Tayyip Erdogan  told a press conference on Tuesday that nearly half a million people have been left homeless in Kahramanmaras province following the devastating earthquakes in early February. 

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"We continue to set up tent cities and shipping container cities in an effort to meet the housing demand of our people," said the President, who added, "We currently shelter 461 000 people in tents, public buildings, dormitories, schools and other places throughout Kahramanmaras." 

According to the president, "the process of renovating cities will be accelerated to leave behind once and for all the time when people were trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings," Erdogan said.

The Türkish president also referred to the government's plans to provide new housing within a year to people living in the provinces affected by the February 6 earthquakes.

We will definitely provide our citizens with comfortable, safe and modern buildings where they can live peacefully. We will work by combining our night with our day, and we will definitely keep our promise by Allah's leave.

Strong earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 struck the Kahramanmaras province in southeastern Türkiye on February 6. Syria was also hard hit by the earthquakes, followed by thousands of aftershocks.

The catastrophe caused more than 50 000 deaths between the two countries. In Türkiye, 173 000 buildings collapsed or were severely damaged.

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the destruction has left 1.5 million people homeless, and 500 000 new homes are needed.

The Turkish government's initial plan is to build 200 000 apartments and 70 000 townhouses at a minimum cost of 15 billion dollars.