Two years after the deadliest earthquake in Turkey's modern history, hundreds of people remain displaced with many living in temporary shelters as efforts to rebuild the affected areas progress slowly.
At 04:17 on the morning of February 6, 2023, a 7,8-magnitude earthquake struck eleven provinces in southeastern Turkey and areas of northern Syria, killing more than 59.000 people in both countries and injuring over 107.000.
Due to the earthquake, which was felt as far away as Egypt, entire cities were leveled, with the provinces of Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman being the most affected.
Thousands of people in Turkey continue to live in containers
Two years after "the disaster of the century," as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the earthquake, 670.000 people are still living in containers, waiting to be moved to apartments being built by the state.
The Turkish government has committed to building 650.000 homes, while Erdogan had promised a few weeks after the earthquake that 319.000 new homes would be delivered within a year.
"We are fortunate to have delivered 201.431 independent units to their beneficiaries less than two years after the earthquake," the Turkish president pointed out on Monday.
Environment and Urban Development Minister Murat Kurum said that $75 billion has been spent on rebuilding the affected areas.
The critical phase of reconstruction has been completed, he noted, adding that plans for the construction of residential and business units are progressing rapidly.
So far, 189 people, many of whom have been found guilty of "negligence" in complying with building regulations, have been sentenced to prison terms, while 1.342 trials involving 1.850 defendants are ongoing, according to the Turkish Ministry of Justice.
The death toll from the "earthquake of the century" is shocking
Today, Erdogan is scheduled to travel to Adiyaman, the capital of the province of the same name, to commemorate the more than 53.500 deaths recorded in Turkey, while another 6.000 lost their lives in Syria.
Ozgur Ozel, head of the Republican People's Party (CHP), the main opposition party, preceded Erdogan and from the Adiyaman cemetery denounced yesterday, Wednesday, "the promises that were not kept" by the Turkish president.
According to him, only 30% of the reconstruction projects have been completed, while in Hatay only 18% of the housing that was to be built has been completed.
"Only three out of ten who believed Erdogan now have homes, while the other seven live in containers or have sought refuge in relatives' homes," he stressed.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that millions of people in Turkey and Syria are still trying to rebuild their lives, while describing the pace of reconstruction as "very slow".
Source: iefimerida.gr
