President Erdoğan pledges new houses, rental support for citizens suffered in İzmir quake

SAMSUN

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Nov. 1 that new houses will be built as soon as possible and rentals will be provided for those whose homes have been destroyed in the İzmir earthquake.

“We are determined to heal the wounds of our brothers and sisters in İzmir who are affected by the earthquake before cold weather and rains start,” he told in a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Black Sea province of Samsun.

“As in all disasters up to now, we will hopefully bring our citizens, who lost their homes in the Izmir earthquake, to their new homes as soon as possible,” he stated.

The government will immediately start work after the removal of the wreckage of the buildings that were destroyed and needed to be demolished with damage assessment, Erdoğan said, noting that the ministries and institutions are doing everything necessary in the disaster area with all their teams and facilities.

Erdoğan went to İzmir from the Van congress of his party on Oct. 31 and held a meeting in the crisis center the following day.

Speaking in İzmir, the president said the government would ensure rental prices for the citizens, whose houses were destroyed until the construction works would be finalized for the new houses.

“We will not have the slightest trouble by paying the most household goods and the costs of our citizens who had their belongings damaged,” Erdoğan noted.

The government has provided 24 million Turkish Lira allowance to tackle the outcome of the earthquake in İzmir, he said.

Seven cargo planes belonging to the General Staff have performed their duty to help the wounded in the earthquake, Erdoğan said.

The Disaster Management Agency Authority (AFAD) has served with three mobile coordination vehicles from Sakarya, Bursa and Afyon, and 35 mobile base stations for telecommunications had been shipped to the region while 25 of them had been installed, he said. “In addition to all these, we have sent 24 million allowances so far.”