Erdogan vows to rebuild as quake's death toll passes 35,000 in Turkey

ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Tuesday to rebuild thousands of devastated homes, saying his country would overcome the earthquake as it had other historic disasters.

“This disaster has been called the ‘disaster of the century’. This is not a great exaggeration,” he said in Turkey’s capital Ankara, at a meeting of Cabinet ministers held at the national emergency management agency. “We will continue our fight together until the end.”

The agency, Afad, has led a monumental rescue and relief effort, and has said that more than 238,000 Turkish and international workers are assisting.

But the sheer scope of the disaster has meant that not only have more than 35,000 people been killed, but at least one million people have been left homeless.

Cities of makeshift shelters, using Afad-supplied tents as well as tarps, cardboard, vehicles and debris, have been built around the earthquake zone in southern Turkey.

Mr Erdogan said that the government had made reconstruction one of its goals.

“Our aim is that in one year, we will start the construction and revival of the residences,” he said. “In the 10 provinces I’ve visited, my citizens first said ‘what will happen to my house?’”

“We will repeat the construction and revival as we did” in other provinces hit by earthquakes and floods in recent years, he added.

Flash floods killed dozens of people in northern Turkey in 2021, and last week’s earthquake was one of more than 70 of magnitude 6.5 or higher recorded in the region since 1900.

But the 7.8-magnitude earthquake was also the deadliest in Turkey since 1939, and could take more than a decade to rebuild from.

“This nation has overcome many disasters,” Mr Erdogan said in an address to Afad staff members. “We will overcome this one too – nobody should have any doubts. Since this great disaster, you have fought day and night. You are the ones who give… morale to our nation. We trust in you, believe in you.” NYTIMES