Two weeks after major earthquakes that claimed more than 41,000 lives in Türkiye's south and southeast, teams have mobilized to continue removing rubble from collapsed buildings while infrastructure works for establishing temporary settlements in worst-hit areas are gaining pace.

Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said that nearly 13,000 excavators, cranes, trucks and other industrial vehicles had been sent to the quake zone, while the first "container cities" and temporary shelters are being constructed in Osmaniye and Gaziantep's Nurdağı and Islahiye districts.

Speaking to reporters in Gaziantep province on Sunday, Murat Kurum, minister of environment, urbanization and climate change, said inspections at 927,000 buildings consisting of 3.52 million independent sections in the earthquake zone had been completed. "We have determined that 412,000 independent sections in 118,000 buildings were demolished, about to be demolished or severely damaged," Kurum said.

Noting that rescue operations have ended in Gaziantep, the minister noted that the installation of a total of 4,500 containers in Nurdağı and Islahiye was initiated by the ministry.

''We have offered shelter to some of our citizens with 1,000 containers, in two separate areas. In line with the needs, we are also carrying out the installation of shelters in new areas simultaneously,'' Kurum stated.

According to the information received from the officials of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the temporary accommodation area in the Nurdağı district is planned at 305,000 square meters (3,282,993 square feet), in two separate sections. There will be social facilities in these areas, which are set to accommodate 19,000 people and consist of 3,208 units.

In the two districts where many houses were destroyed and became unusable in the earthquakes, described as the "disaster of the century," temporary shelters consisting of masonry structures, prefabricated units and containers were created by the Housing Development Administration (TOKI) and the General Directorate of Emlak Konut, under the coordination of Kurum.

The construction of houses made from brick also continues, with ground-leveling work reportedly completed. The first group of these houses is expected to be ready to host survivors soon.

In Islahiye, some 13,500 earthquake survivors will be able to live in two separate temporary accommodation areas, where 2,264 units are located, the officials also noted.

While the needs of the citizens in Osmaniye, one of the provinces severely damaged by the Feb. 6 earthquakes, have been met in the tent cities established at 23 points to date, a new living space is being built from containers on an area of 122,000 square meters. Container city construction continues in the area between the city center, Dereobası village and the Fakıuşağı district, overseen by Osmaniye's governorship, the AFAD, the TOKI, Osmaniye Municipality and the Highways Directorate, Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported Monday.

It was stated that families will continue their lives in the newly created container city until new houses are built.

The disastrous earthquake left the infrastructure of the whole region damaged, while authorities warned people Monday not to enter homes to collect belongings due to danger that is still highly present.

The AFAD noted Sunday that the number of aftershocks has surpassed 6,000 since the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes, while strong tremors continue in some provinces such Hatay and Elazığ. It was stated by the AFAD that in Elazığ five earthquakes, measuring as a magnitude of 4.4-4.8, took place at night from Sunday to Monday.

"The number of aftershocks caused by the two earthquakes has reached 6,040. Among them, 1,628 aftershocks were measured as a magnitude of 3-4, 436 of them with a magnitude of 4-5, and 40 with a magnitude of 5-6. There was also a 6.6 magnitude quake," Orhan Tatar, the general director of the earthquake and risk reduction at the AFAD, said during a news conference.

As a result of the earthquakes, the earth's crust moved by 7.3 meters (24 feet), Tatar stated. That is a "very serious number. The quakes also unleashed a great deal of energy," he added.

The impact of these earthquakes reached 110,000 square kilometers (42,471 square miles) and caused damage in many provinces and districts, he said.