Türkiye to erase traces of quake: Erdoğan

ELAZIĞ

Türkiye will erase the traces of the destruction caused by the disaster and prepare more strongly for possible disasters in the future, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed while speaking at an iftar dinner in the eastern province of Elazığ on April 1.

Expressing that Türkiye has a geography that is prone to many disasters, potential earthquakes, floods, droughts and landslides, Erdoğan said, “Since we cannot change our geography, we need to prepare ourselves for disasters.”

“We moved 3.3 million people to safe houses with 1.2 million urban transformation projects through [the Housing Development Administration of Türkiye] TOKİ,” he said.

“But after that, did we not build and revive these beautiful works? Thank God, when we experienced the disaster, was it like this when I first came here?” he asked.

He noted that the People’s Alliance modernized cities’ infrastructure and superstructure, making them resistant to disasters, and highlighted that it takes time and requires serious resources.

“Especially in Elazığ, as the earthquake, floods and fires took place in a limited area with limited damage, we healed the wounds quickly,” Erdoğan said.

He reminded that the Feb. 6 earthquakes affecting 14 million people had the destructive power that rendered 895,000 independent sections in 313,000 buildings uninhabitable.

“Disasters, especially earthquakes, do not wait for us to finish our preparations. So, what we need to do is to erase the traces of the destruction caused by the disaster we experienced and prepare more strongly for possible disasters in the future,” Erdoğan said.