NATO sends temporary housing containers to quake-hit Türkiye

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - NATO continued its support for ally Türkiye as 600 temporary housing containers departed for the country’s quake-hit areas, the military alliance said Sunday.

"A merchant vessel carrying the first 600 of over 1,000 containers of NATO temporary housing for Türkiye left the port of Taranto, Italy on Sunday evening," NATO said in a statement.

It said the shipment will provide temporary housing for at least 4,000 people affected by the recent devastating earthquakes.

"It is expected to arrive in Iskenderun next week, with the establishment of the camp expected to start once the equipment is off-loaded and delivered to the site," it added.

Meanwhile, NATO said it is coordinating the strategic airlift of tents from Pakistan to Türkiye.

In a show of solidarity, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Türkiye on Thursday and had talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At least 41,020 people have been killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country’s disaster management agency said Sunday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.