UPDATE - Turkish president vows to 'erase traces' of massive earthquakes

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS OF TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday promised to heal the wounds of victims of powerful earthquakes that hit the country's southern region last month and claimed more than 45,000 lives.

"Hopefully, we will erase the traces of the Feb. 6 earthquake as soon as possible," Erdogan said at the Justice and Development (AK) Party's group meeting in parliament.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras, struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. Some 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes.

All scientists said the process was "not an ordinary one," Erdogan said, adding: "Türkiye is seized by an earthquake storm."

"We will remove the debris, we will heal the wounds, we will replace the collapsed houses with well-constructed ones, we will win the hearts, we will build a new future and a new life for our people," he pledged.

Erdogan said nearly 204,000 buildings either collapsed, severely damaged or must be demolished immediately, adding that 98% of these buildings were constructed before 2000.

A total 271,000 civil servants were assigned in the region and teams from 90 countries worldwide also joined the efforts to help save people, the president said.

"Of course, despite this, there were some shortcomings, disruptions and delays ... Telling the shortcomings and asking for blessing is not our weakness, it is the expression of the sincere love between us and our nation," Erdogan added.

He said that they also plan to create a national risk shield model for Türkiye and that they will hold its first meeting on Friday.

- Disaster reconstruction fund

Erdogan said debris removal continues in the region where the search and rescue efforts ended.

"We are planning to build a total of 468,031 households in the earthquake zone ..." he said, asking for a year for it.

Türkiye provided nearly 1.6 million citizens in the earthquake zone with shelter, Erdogan said, adding: "1.4 million of our citizens live in 356,000 tents we set up in the region, and 34,000 in the container cities we have put into service."

He added that 811,000 citizens were evacuated to other cities.

The president also announced that the formation of a disaster reconstruction fund to help cities recover quickly after the earthquakes.

"This fund, which will operate with a transparent management, will reduce the burden on the budget by providing long-term resources for disasters," he added.

- Upcoming elections

Meanwhile, about the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Türkiye, the president signaled that the elections would be held on May 14, sticking to the previous plan.

"Know well that this nation will hopefully do what is necessary on May 14," Erdogan told the lawmakers.

Following the devastating quakes, there were rumors that elections could be postponed until later in the year or could be held as scheduled on June 18.

Erdogan previously said May 14 is the "most suitable" date for holding the elections.