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Türkiye working tirelessly to heal wounds caused by quakes: Erdogan

Turkish President says construction of 56,323 houses in the quake-hit region has already started, adding that Türkiye is planning to build 319,000 houses in one year.

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Türkiye is planning to build 319,000 houses in one year in the quake-hit region, he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to heal the wounds caused by powerful earthquakes that hit the country's southern region last month and claimed more than 50,000 lives.

"We are working day and night to heal the wounds caused by the earthquake in the hearts of millions of our people," Erdogan said on Monday at a ground-breaking ceremony in the Adiyaman province.

Türkiye is planning to build 319,000 houses in one year in the quake-hit region, he said.

"On the one hand, we are establishing temporary accommodation areas, while on the other hand, we are starting the construction of permanent residences," he said, adding the construction of 56,323 houses has started so far.

On Feb. 6, the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 provinces — Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes, as well as many others in northern Syria.

'Risk shield'

Earlier this month, Türkiye launched its "risk shield" model for building new residential homes consolidated against future disasters after last month's devastating earthquakes in the country's south, President Erdogan announced.

"We have quickly launched the construction of new houses and living spaces, starting with projects whose ground and feasibility studies have already been completed," Erdogan said on Friday at a meeting in Istanbul with high-level officials, including Vice President Fuat Oktay, parliament speaker Mustafa Sentop, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, and government ministers.

The aim of the meeting was to form the intellectual basis of the Turkish National Risk Shield Model, he said, adding while creating this approach, all the dangers and threats can be taken into consideration under the title of the disaster that the country is facing.

Once damage assessments are complete, the number of new houses to be built in the quakes-hit region will become clear, Erdogan added as he addressed the Türkiye National Risk Shield Meeting at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office.

"While planning new houses, we are turning the direction of our cities from plains towards hills," he said, underlining that under the new model, areas with strong bedrocks would be preferred as much as possible.

"We aim to revive our ancient cities with an understanding that will keep our historical and cultural assets alive and also reinforce them against disaster," he said.

SOURCE: AA