Tent cities vacated as permanent houses rise in quake zone

KAHRAMANMARAŞ

With the construction of permanent housing in earthquake-hit provinces, especially Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Malatya, and Adıyaman, concluding swiftly as part of the rehabilitation efforts, survivors living in tents are gradually being relocated to permanent houses and container cities.

Efforts are ongoing to improve the living conditions of earthquake survivors in the southern provinces hit by devastating twin earthquakes in early February. The earthquakes claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people and left millions homeless.

Tent cities established for the accommodation of earthquake survivors are being dismantled as the settlements in container cities accelerated. As the construction of a large number of container cities is now complete, survivors are being relocated from their tents to these containers.

The aim is to completely end tent life in the region, while authorities plan to complete the transition of people in the quake zone currently living in tents to the containers within a month.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) has installed approximately 130,000 containers at 352 locations to meet the temporary housing needs of the earthquake-stricken areas. The installed containers are currently providing shelter to around 320,000 earthquake survivors.

It was noted that in Gaziantep’s Nurdağı and Islahiye districts, one of the cities severely hit by the disaster, only 900 tents remain, and the earthquake victims living in these tents will soon be relocated to the completed houses and containers.

As part of the normalization efforts, 70,263 people have been accommodated in container cities established at 51 different locations in Malatya. Work is underway to set up an additional 5,000 containers in the city.

In Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the Feb. 6 earthquakes, efforts to provide shelter for victims are ongoing. The majority of earthquake survivors initially staying in tents have been relocated to container cities. Currently, 86,000 people in the city meet their temporary housing needs in 26,000 containers.

Efforts are also underway in Adıyaman to normalize life, with authorities planning to build nearly 50,000 houses. Currently, 21 tent cities and 26 container cities have been established in the city.