AFAD President Sezer announced that the number of people who lost their lives in the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes was 44,374.
AFAD President Yunus Sezer Sezer reminded at a press conference held at AFAD Headquarters that 21 days have passed since the earthquake, and that there have been both earthquakes above 5 and many aftershocks in this process.
Stating that there have been 9,990 aftershocks so far and that the recovery and healing process continues in the region, Sezer said, “Search and rescue work has been completed in nearly 21 thousand buildings. At the moment, we are completely focused on debris removal works.”
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Underlining that intensive work is underway for the construction of tents, containers and permanent residences within the scope of recovery efforts, Sezer continued his words as follows:
“All steps are being taken to normalize life as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we have lost 44 thousand 374 people during this process. I wish God’s mercy and condolences to our nation. An intensive work continues. At the moment, 8,182 search and rescue personnel are accompanying the wreckage works and other works carried out there, and nearly 230 thousand of our personnel are currently working.
Currently, 1180 personnel from international search and rescue are also trying to support humanitarian aid activities. Debris work continues in our provinces and districts. Currently, 12,171 construction equipment are active in the region. We are intensively using aircrafts to send both humanitarian aid and tents. We are trying to reach our villages and the remotest points in the earthquake zone. Air, land, forces, coast guard, coast guard, security, gendarmerie and naval elements of our naval forces are intensively operating in this region.”
Sezer pointed out that 13,771 flights have been organized with 78 airplanes and 116 helicopters.
“We dispatch over 10 thousand tents on a daily average”
Underlining that they have intensively set up tent cities within the scope of shelter, Sezer said, “Individual tent requests continue intensively due to these aftershocks. We are sending over 10 thousand tents to the region on a daily average and we are delivering them to the remotest points. We currently have 287 tent cities in the region. We are not only establishing tent cities, we are trying to create organized areas with social facilities and all kinds of psychosocial support.”
Pointing out that they aim to put more than 100 thousand containers into operation in a short time, Sezer continued his words as follows:
“In this regard, 143 areas have been identified as of now and infrastructure works are continuing intensively in 97 of them. In fact, 4 of them were completed as of yesterday. The infrastructure works in the 97 areas I mentioned have been completed at a rate close to 50 percent. Over 10 thousand containers are being installed in the region.
In terms of the number of people hosted in the disaster zone, 1 million 531 thousand 283 citizens affected by the disaster are hosted in tents, container cities, public guesthouses and suitable areas in the disaster zones here. We also have 563 thousand disaster-affected citizens evacuated outside the disaster zone. Our work continues to meet both shelter and other needs through the commissions established with AFAD and other units under the coordination of the governorships in the provinces where they are located.”
Stating that 334 thousand 321 of the evacuated citizens stayed in guesthouses and hotels outside the disaster area, Sezer said, “In the region, under the coordination of our Red Crescent, work is continuing with both non-governmental organizations and the relevant units of our ministries. Currently, 80 million 965 thousand hot meals and 14 million 539 thousand ration packages are being distributed in the region.”
Stating that psychosocial support is also continuing, Sezer said that 7,327 personnel are currently working in the region and psychosocial support is provided to approximately one million people.
Regarding the cash aids, Sezer said:
“With the statements of our President, it was decided to pay 10 thousand liras to our disaster victims affected by the disaster there, and payments have been made to 918 thousand citizens. They can check them via e-devlet and as soon as the payments are made, they can go to Ziraat Bank and withdraw the money. These payments are also continuing rapidly.
Our preparations for moving and rent aids have also been completed. For this, applications are also received via e-government and the evaluation process continues. In this regard, payments will start in a short time.”
Sezer stated that work on site selection for permanent residences is ongoing and said, “God willing, we will have the opportunity to heal the wounds of this disaster in a very short time. We would like to express our gratitude to our friends working day and night in the region and in coordination.”
