Foreign media such as the New York Times (NYT) and The Guardian reported on the 14th (Korean time) that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Türkiye announced that he would begin rebuilding the city from next month as many people lost their homes due to the earthquake.
President 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.
“Turkiye 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.”
In addition, he insisted, “We will repeat construction and reconstruction as we have done in recent years when other provinces have suffered damage from earthquakes and floods.” Türkiye has suffered dozens of deaths from floods that occurred in the northern region in 2021. However, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on the 6th is the deadliest earthquake in Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, and it may take more than a decade to recover, the NYT predicted.
Addressing AFAD staff, President Erdogan said, “We will overcome this earthquake too,” and “no one should have any doubts.” He continued, “When this major disaster occurred, you are fighting day and night.” “You are people who motivate our country. We trust you, AFAD.”
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.
Meanwhile, according to President Erdogan’s announcement, the earthquake in Turkiye on the 6th destroyed 47,000 buildings or severely damaged them to the point of requiring demolition. The number of people living in the destroyed buildings was estimated at 211,000.
While conducting rescue and relief efforts, AFAD said that “more than 238,000 Turkiye and international personnel are helping (AFAD),” the NYT analyzed that more than one million people lost their homes due to the extensive scope of disaster damage.
The Turkish Business Confederation, Turkonfed, estimated that the earthquake could cause an $84 billion loss to the Turkish economy.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.