Over 2 million quake-victims live in tents in Turkey, AFAD head announces

Duvar English

The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) head Yunus Sezer made a presentation on the aftermath of the Feb. 6 earthquakes in the parliament’s Earthquake Research Commission.

Sezer said the death toll has risen over 50,000 due to two earthquakes that shook Turkey’s southeast region on Feb. 6, which injured 107,204 people. 18,738 aftershocks occurred after the earthquakes, Sezer noted, with 44 of them being over 5.0 magnitude.

In 11 provinces, more than 300,000 buildings were either collapsed, or severely or moderately damaged. The government stopped giving the figure for only collapsed buildings in the earthquakes.

Sezer said 501,069 tents were established, housing 2,004,276 people. On the other hand, 40,788 people live in 30,344 containers.

Moreover, he noted that 24,680 toilets and showers were established in the disaster area. Based on the figures Sezer presented, about 83 people use the same toilet and shower even 43 days after the quakes.

Turkey’s southeastern region was struck by two major earthquakes on Feb. 6, one at a magnitude of 7.7 and the other at 7.6. The first one’s epicenter was Kahramanmaraş’s Pazarcık district, whereas the second one was the Elbistan district.

Moreover, 6.4, 5.8, 5.2, 5.2 magnitudes of earthquakes hit southern Hatay on Feb. 20, increasing the extent of damage.

According to the official figures as of March 20, the number of citizens who have died in the earthquakes stands at 50,096, but experts fear that the number is much higher, taking into consideration the thousands of buildings that collapsed.