its president Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoganannounced today that 200,000 apartment buildings will be built in eleven provinces hit by the devastating natural disaster. earthquake dated 6 February.

“None of these buildings will be higher than three or four stories,” Erdogan said during a visit to Hatay province, which was hit hard by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 41,000 people in Turkey. It is estimated that at least 118,000 buildings were completely destroyed or severely damaged.

“All buildings will be built from scratch (…) on a solid basis and based on good practice,” the Turkish president insisted, specifying that construction would begin in March. According to him, these houses will be built away from tectonic faults and “closer to the mountains to protect them from the problems created by soft ground.”

“We will build new Antakia (Antioch), Iskenderun (Alexandretta) and Arsuz. We will rebuild them from scratch,” he continued, referring to the three major cities in Hatay province. “We will start relocating our fellow citizens who now live in tent and container cities to their (new) homes within a year,” Erdogan also promised in his first public statement in six days.

The 130,000 houses he promised would be built in the provinces of Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Malatya, the three districts hardest hit by the earthquake.

Erdogan assured that mosques and other places of worship would also be built.

The Turkish president, saying that more than 114,800 people had been rescued from the rubble, also said that state-owned banks would write off the debts of those killed in the earthquake.

According to him, to date, the housing needs of 1.69 million people have been satisfied. About 375,000 earthquake victims were transported to other cities in the country – three-quarters of them by air.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}