Making a speech at the Türkiye National Risk Shield Meeting, Erdoğan said: “While planning new houses, we are turning the direction of our cities from plains towards hills and towards areas that have a strong base as much as possible. As regards residential areas in our ancient cities, we aim to revive them in such a spirit as to conserve our historical and cultural assets and consolidate them against disasters.”

Drawing attention to the trying times marked by the February 6 earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş and the 12 thousand aftershocks, Erdoğan stated: “These earthquakes led to substantial loss of life and major destruction in 11 cities of our country. We feel in our hearts the pain of each one of our more than 45 thousand losses and 115 thousand injured people.”

Highlighting the selfless efforts continuously being exerted in order to heal the wounds inflicted by the disaster, which has directly affected nearly 14 million people and led to 3.5 million people migrating to other cities of the country, Erdoğan said: “Search and rescue efforts are followed by debris removal efforts, which are then followed by reconstruction and amelioration works. The number of the new houses we will build in our cities and villages will be clear once the damage assessment has been completed.”

Noting that quake victims are being accommodated for the time being at tent cities, container cities, dormitories, state guesthouses, and hotels, Erdoğan said: “There are also a large number of citizens who have gone to their villages or moved into the houses which have either been allocated for them or they themselves have rented in other cities. In the face of such massive destruction, it is imperative for us to first deliver our people’s basic needs swiftly in order to make sure life returns to normal.”

Pointing out that steps are now being taken rapidly to provide permanent housing two weeks into the earthquakes, Erdoğan said: “Also, high-quality tents sent by NATO as well as other similar tents from Switzerland have been set up inside a complex. Accordingly, we have quickly launched the construction of new houses and living spaces, starting with projects whose ground and feasibility studies have already been completed. While planning new houses, we are turning the direction of our cities from plains towards hills and towards areas that have a strong base as much as possible. As regards residential areas in our ancient cities, we aim to revive them in such a spirit as to conserve our historical and cultural assets and consolidate them against disasters. We will not make any concession from horizontal architecture.” (ILKHA)