Six more cities declared as disaster zone

ANKARA

Six more provinces, including Bingöl, Kayseri, Mardin, Tunceli, Niğde and Batman, have been declared as disaster zone as they were damaged in the Feb. 6 earthquakes, the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) has announced.

Following the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people and caused massive destruction in several regions, 11 southern provinces and the eastern province of Sivas’ Gürün district were previously declared as a disaster zone.

“The quake also affected some of our cities other than 11 provinces. As a result of damage assessment studies, we determined that there are buildings that are slightly, moderately and heavily damaged in some settlements in the Bingöl, Kayseri, Mardin, Tunceli, Niğde and Batman provinces,” AFAD explained in a written statement.

Considering the destruction that these cities experienced, AFAD added the six provinces to the disaster zone.

If a place is declared as a disaster zone, residents are able to benefit from health services completely free of charge.

Technical committees from all other provinces can be assigned to detect the damage in the structures of these regions, while the relevant ministries can be assigned to the disaster area by the government to carry out urgent action plans.