The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change carried out ground surveys at 154 locations for "resilient cities" to build new settlements in the provinces affected by the February earthquakes.
New settlements, and destroyed and heavily damaged areas were examined by expert teams for morphological, geological, geophysical, geotechnical, hydrogeological, and seismotectonic qualities to ascertain land use and disaster risk status.
The ministry continues to work on permanent housing by coordinating with Türkiye's Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) to meet the housing needs of those whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged in the 11 provinces affected by the earthquakes.
Currently, 319,000 houses and a total of 650,000 houses are being planned to be built for beneficiaries by next year. Additionally, foundational work and construction have begun in areas where preparations have been completed. According to the information received from the ministry, in addition to earthquakes, landslides, floods and other natural disaster risks are also being taken care of in the said areas.
However, 1,630 out of the 4,032 drillings for ground soil sample surveys have been completed, with drilling measuring up to 49,835 meters in 154 areas.
Soil structure surveys revealed that the ground's earthquake resistance, described as "micro-zoning" analysis, continued around the clock along with detailed geological studies in an area of 52,969 hectares.
Old settlement areas are also being examined in detail by ministry teams. Precautions, such as zoning, building height checks and density, are being taken to avoid any future mishap.
Within the framework of the plan, after meetings with relevant institutions, local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and scientists, a plan will be prepared that caters to the needs of cities while protecting historical, sociological and cultural demographic structures.
Within the scope of the plan, new settlements in earthquake-prone zones will be established in a settlement model, from the plains to mountains, taking into account the quality of ground and distance from fault lines.
During the construction, a tunnel framework system on the raft foundation will be carefully induced in all structures for resistance against earthquakes. It is thus anticipated that earthquake survivors will be able to live safely in durable houses with solutions that minimize jolts and thus possible damage.
On the other hand, the Turkish National Risk Shield Model, created to prepare cities in Türkiye's resistance to disasters, will be implemented to establish a countrywide holistic disaster preparedness and management system.
Within the scope of this model, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum established 13 subspecialty committees to lay out measures against all disasters, including the reconstruction and restoration processes.
