President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan coordinated and was briefed on the works underway in the area of earthquake at the State Information Coordination Center of the Presidential Complex
Making a speech at the center, President Erdoğan said: “Two major earthquakes, whose epicenters are the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş, have caused grave destruction in 10 provinces within a large area where 13.5 million citizens live. The magnitude of the Pazarcık-epicentered earthquake, which took place at 04.17 in the morning, was measured as 7.7 according to the moment tensor analysis and the Elbistan-epicentered earthquake, which struck at 01.24 afternoon, as 7.6.”
“Experts describe these two earthquakes as unprecedented earth movements which are independent of one another but still trigger each other. Both of the earthquakes took place in such a close proximity as seven kilometers to the earth surface, which exponentially increases the intensity of the destruction. Also, because of the width of the broken fault lines, these earthquakes have caused a huge destruction in a very large area compared with similar ones. As a result, we are faced with one of the biggest disasters of not only our Republican history, but also of our region and the world.”
Stressing that the state, with all of its institutions, means, capabilities and personnel, have launched search and rescue operations in the areas of disaster in a spirit of mobilization starting from the moment of the earthquake, President Erdoğan said: “Taking into consideration the earthquakes’ destructive impacts in the 10 provinces, we instructed that our expert personnel and vehicles be dispatched to the region immediately.”
President Erdoğan stated: “Our teams worked selflessly to reach the disaster areas and join the operations despite the difficulties due to weather conditions. What is more, the danger the large number of aftershocks cause in damaged structures negatively affect the works. We rapidly continue the search and rescue operations with the support of our citizens and volunteers regardless of the difficulty of the conditions. Currently, our 53,317 search and rescue personnel are working right on the rubbles and this number keeps increasing by hour with the addition of teams both from Türkiye and abroad. And even a way larger number of civil servants, NGO staff and volunteers participate in the relief efforts. We also implement, step by step, the measures to meet the needs of the rescued victims including accommodation, food, clothing and heating. Thus far, 54 thousand tents, 102 thousand beds and other relief materials have been sent to the disaster victims in the region.”
Stressing that additional provincial and district governors have been assigned to every province affected by the disaster in a bid to support the current administrators, President Erdoğan said: “Administrators of all the public institutions across our 81 provinces are working tirelessly regarding the operations to be conducted in their respective cities for the areas of earthquake. What is more, one minister is overseeing the relevant operations in each one of the provinces. Vice President Fuat Oktay is coordinating the works at the AFAD headquarters. We, for our part, are closely following the developments through the Presidential Crisis Center and making the necessary interventions in constant coordination with our friends on the ground. In the initial phase, we have assigned a source of 100 billion liras to our institutions to be used for urgent aid and support activities.”
“As I have mentioned during yesterday’s press conference at AFAD, it is of vital importance to keep open the lines of transportation and communication. There are still some difficulties in transporting the search and rescue teams and equipment as well as aid supplies to the earthquake zone due to the harsh winter conditions. Therefore, let me reiterate that no one should use, unless imperative, the roads leading to, and inside, the earthquake areas and no phone call should be made except for urgent situations. We have earmarked some of the airports in the region only for flights of aid supplies. In terms of health, nearly 5 thousand healthcare personnel have been assigned to the region, including about 1,000 for ambulances, 241 within the National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) teams and some on duty at two air ambulances. Citizens from across the country are donating blood to keep the stocks robust in cases of need. A large number of personnel from the security units affiliated to the Ministry of Interior and the Turkish Armed Forces have been assigned to the search and rescue operations.”
Announcing the number of people who lost their lives as 3,549 and the injured as 22,168, President Erdoğan said that seven days of national mourning has been declared. “Thus far, 70 countries and 14 international organizations have offered aid. I have spoken with 18 heads of state and government who have called us on the phone. I would like to thank all our friends, all the heads of state and government who have called us or sent messages to offer support and aid and have made statements during these difficult times of our country. The international community’s support is valuable to us in terms of psychological affect rather than the content of the aid to come.”
Calling on citizens and businesspeople willing to help heal the wounds of the quake to make donations via the AFAD’s bank accounts, President Erdoğan noted that transfers to the Turkish Lira and foreign currency accounts of the AFAD at the prominent banks and participation banks in Türkiye will be free of cost.
“The gravity of the earthquake disaster we have experienced makes it imperative for us to implement extraordinary measures. We declare the 10 provinces hit by earthquakes to be an area of disaster affecting the public life. By the power vested in us by Article 119 of the Constitution, we have decided to declare state of emergency in order for search and rescue operations and the following efforts to be carried out rapidly. We will quickly complete the Presidency and National Assembly processes regarding this decision, which is to cover the 10 provinces and remain in effect for a period of three months,” the President pointed out.
Stressing that Qatar is currently preparing to send 10 thousand containers to Türkiye, President Erdoğan stated: “Besides the containers we will be shipping urgently to many places, caravans are also arriving at the center. These caravans will be assigned to the families in urgent need. May Allah help our country and nation.”
