Türkiye accelerates reconstruction of earthquake-ravaged region

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye has mobilized all resources to rebuild the earthquake-ravaged region, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Erdogan spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony in Türkiye's Adiyaman province via live video link from the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara.

Adiyaman is one of 11 cities hit by severe twin earthquakes on Feb. 6.

More than 50,000 people were killed by earthquakes with magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 that rocked the cities of Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

The earthquakes have also affected around 14 million people in Türkiye and thousands of others in northern Syria.

"We mobilized all the resources of our state and nation to rebuild the earthquake-stricken region and meet the needs of the earthquake victims," the president said, adding "We closely followed the process through visits we made to the earthquake region at various times."

The Turkish government accelerated its efforts to recover the earthquake zone following the general and presidential elections in May, Erdogan added.

"We have planned the construction of 64,811 residences, including 41,171 houses and 23,640 village houses in Adiyaman," he added.

- Wildfire in Canakkale halted​​​​​​​

Erdogan also added that, despite the challenging task posed by strong winds reaching speeds of 70 kilometers (44 miles) per hour, the spread of the wildfire in Canakkale has been halted.

"Hopefully, we will be able to get it under control in a short time," the president said.

Wildfires have forced the evacuation of at least six villages in Canakkale's western province.

The Canakkale (Dardanelles) Strait has also been closed to north-south ship traffic because of the fire that broke out earlier Tuesday and rapidly spread due to strong winds.