Delivering remarks at the delivery ceremony of post-earthquake houses in İzmir, Erdoğan said: “Thankfully, our country has the fastest, most effective, and practical disaster response system in the world. We know that people wait for months for a helping hand after a disaster across various places, including in such developed countries as Europe and the US. We, on the other hand, are capable of initiating search and rescue within minutes, relief efforts within hours, debris removal within days, and of constructing new buildings within a year.”

Remembering with respect the citizens who lost their lives in the İzmir earthquake, Erdoğan extended his condolences to their families.

“From the very first moment of the earthquake, we stood by our citizens”

“May Allah spare our country and our nation from such disasters!” Erdoğan prayed. “From the very first moment of the earthquake, we as state and government stood by our disaster-stricken citizens. We closely monitored every ongoing effort from search and rescue to debris removal. With our ministers, all the relevant institutions notably the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE), and the Red Crescent, and our NGOs, we not only shared the pain of İzmir, but also took steps to resolve their problems.”

Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “Thankfully, our country has the fastest, most effective and practical disaster response system in the world. We know that people wait for months for a helping hand after a disaster across various places, including in such developed countries as Europe and the US. We, on the other hand, are capable of initiating search and rescue within minutes, relief efforts within hours, debris removal within days, and of constructing new buildings within a year.” (ILKHA)