NATO sets up shelters for 4,000 quake survivors in Türkiye's Hatay
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar visits camp city established in cooperation with NATO, AFAD and Turkish Defense Ministry in Hatay's Ötençay neighborhood, March 10, 2023. (AA Photo)


NATO is building temporary shelters for 4,000 earthquake survivors in Hatay's Antakya and Iskenderun districts following last month's devastating earthquakes that claimed tens of thousands of lives in Türkiye's southeast and Syria.

"NATO Allies and partners continue to provide aid to Türkiye," the alliance said in a statement on Thursday

NATO's Support and Procurement Agency is building temporary shelters for 4,000 people in Antakya and Iskenderun.

The camp in Antakya is expected to open in mid-April with a capacity to host over 2,400 people.

NATO members also agreed to build a similar facility to accommodate additional 4,000 people in Defne, another district, in solidarity with Türkiye.

In recent weeks, NATO has airlifted over 10,000 tents, blankets and medical equipment from Pakistan.

France also delivered 5,000 tents and thousands of blankets.

Nearly 50,000 people were killed in Türkiye after magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes hit 10 provinces on Feb. 6, according to officials.

Some 13.5 million people have been affected in Türkiye by the massive quakes which struck the provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa, and Elazığ.

They also rattled several neighboring countries and caused widespread destruction in northern Syria, where nearly 3,500 people were killed.