Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that in Kahramanmaraş, southern Türkiye, 20,145 residences, including 18,296 earthquake houses and 1,849 village homes, have been completed, allowing rightful owners to move into their new homes.
Yerlikaya emphasized the unity and resilience of Kahramanmaraş following the earthquakes on Feb. 6, stating, "Kahramanmaraş is a land of heroes, resilient and unyielding."
Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they transformed the century's disaster into a century of solidarity and initiated the world's largest housing mobilization.
Yerlikaya said: "After the Feb. 6 earthquakes, 7,490 buildings were destroyed in Kahramanmaraş. However, our hope had to be greater than our sorrow, and indeed it was. In Kahramanmaraş, where 45,809 permanent earthquake residences are planned to be built, construction of 20,145 residences, including 18,296 earthquake houses and 1,849 village homes, has been completed, and the rightful owners have acquired their new homes. Construction of the remaining residences is also progressing rapidly. We will not stop; we will not hesitate. We will continue to work day and night until the last key is handed over."
Following the earthquakes on Feb. 6, which affected 11 provinces centered around Pazarcık and Elbistan districts, construction of disaster residences is rapidly progressing.
Under the "Türkiye Stands United" campaign, construction continues for single-story houses consisting of three bedrooms and one living room, covering an area of 127 square meters in rural neighborhoods, as well as TOKI residences planned as ground plus three, four and five floors.
In 2023, Ünlüer, reiterating that the city was among the settlements most affected by the disaster, stated that they aim to deliver 9,800 of the collective residences built for citizens whose homes were destroyed by the end of the year. This progress marks a significant milestone in Türkiye's recovery efforts post-2023 earthquakes.