President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the eastern Turkish province of Adıyaman on Friday, in the seventh stopover of his tour of the 10 earthquake-hit provinces of the country. Erdoğan announced the latest death toll from Monday's earthquake as 19,388 and said another 77,711 people were injured. The Turkish leader also announced a series of steps to alleviate the financial concerns of victims, including a one-year rent payment for people who lost homes and free flights on the country's flagship carrier both for those leaving the earthquake-hit provinces and those hoping to travel to them.
Erdoğan said the destruction was "significant" in 10 provinces and observed it firsthand during his visits to Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Osmaniye and Kilis. The president extended condolences to families of earthquake victims in Adıyaman. "We are facing one of the biggest disasters in our history," he said, naming the victims of the disaster as "martyrs."
He reiterated his earlier remarks about rebuilding efforts and said new houses will be constructed within one year.
Erdoğan said the state mobilized all resources for search and rescue and humanitarian assistance in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake "but unfortunately, we faced a very difficult task as the earthquake's fallout covered an area of 500 square kilometers."
"An unusually harsh winter in years emerged as another challenge," he said. "But despite all these, we directed all efforts to the earthquake zone, together with our nation. All public resources in all provinces are mobilized for the earthquake-hit areas. We declared the region as a disaster zone and declared a state of emergency," he said. Erdoğan lamented the looting of some supermarkets in the aftermath of the disaster and said that a state of emergency would allow the state to intervene in such acts more efficiently."
"We have had shortcomings but our state came to the aid of our citizens with all the means it has," he said.
The president said search and rescue crews from abroad arrived and more were coming, adding that 94 countries also offered and sent aid. "Yet, it is a fact that the response to the disaster is still not at a desirable pace. Our ministries, municipalities, public agencies, nongovernmental organizations and friends from around the world exerted all efforts to help earthquake victims," he added.
He repeated his remarks on the reconstruction of collapsed buildings within one year and a cash aid of TL 10,000 ($530) to each household affected by the earthquake in the region. He said another TL 15,000 will be paid to households soon. "If our citizens do not wish to stay in tents until their new homes are constructed, we will pay their rent for one year, whether here in Adıyaman or in other cities where they will choose to live," he said.
He also added that he had instructed relevant authorities, including the country's Housing Development Administration (TOKI), to rapidly start the construction. He said they were also arranging accommodation for survivors in hotels, pointing to the evacuation of victims to Antalya and other cities, where the weather is warmer and hotel capacity is higher.
Erdoğan reiterated that Turkish Airlines (THY) is offering free flights for both those seeking to leave 10 provinces and those arriving in the provinces from other Turkish cities. He said more than 76,000 people had already been evacuated from earthquake-hit provinces. The president said there was not any "problem" regarding basic needs and urged citizens wishing to send aid to coordinate it with the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and relevant organizations coordinating the efforts on the ground.
