President Erdoğan said: “People and institutions that will go to the region for help must act in coordination with AFAD. Aids sent to the region outside the coordination of AFAD both cause turmoil and make it difficult to reach their goal.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who came to the Presidency of AFAD to coordinate the studies on the 10-magnitude earthquake, the epicenter of which is in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş and affecting 7,7 provinces, spoke to the members of the press and said, “Tonight at 04.17:1939, it is the most important earthquake after the 7,7 Erzincan earthquake that we experienced in the last century. We were shaken by the great disaster. The earthquake, whose center was determined as Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş and whose moment magnitude was measured as XNUMX according to the last evaluation, was felt in a wide area.
Stating that the depth of the earthquake was determined as 7 kilometers, President Erdoğan said, “The earthquake caused destruction in Kahramanmaraş, as well as Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa and Adana provinces. Although there are minor damages in other provinces that are relatively close to the earthquake center, it is understood that the main destruction took place here. Serious destructions were also experienced in the cities of our southern neighbor Syria, close to our borders. Our state has taken action with all its institutions since the earthquake.” he said.
Stating that the governorships in the earthquake region immediately mobilized all the opportunities in their own provinces, President Erdoğan continued as follows:
“In our 10 provinces affected by the earthquake, 10 more governors have been assigned to work with our current governorships. Institutions such as AFAD and Red Crescent, which have direct disaster duties, sent their teams to the region. Our institutions, especially our Turkish Armed Forces and municipalities, which have the infrastructure and training in disaster studies, have been called to duty. We gave our priority to search and rescue efforts. Currently, 9 thousand personnel carry out search and rescue work, and this number is constantly increasing with those who reach the earthquake area from outside. Detection and rescue activities of our citizens, who were under the collapsed buildings in our provinces where the earthquake caused heavy damage, continue uninterruptedly.
From the moment of the earthquake, we contacted both the region and our friends in Ankara and closely followed the work. Our coordination center in Ankara became operational immediately under the chairmanship of our Vice President Fuat Oktay. Our ministers went to our cities in the earthquake zone and started to coordinate the work on site. Starting from nearby places, search and rescue teams and equipment, aid materials have been dispatched to the earthquake area from all over our country. Our citizens also help the search and rescue and aid teams, which are directed according to the planning made by AFAD.”
“912 of our citizens lost their lives, 5 thousand 385 of our citizens were injured”
Emphasizing that the fact that it was winter, the weather was cold, and the earthquake took place in the middle of the night made things difficult, President Erdoğan emphasized that everyone was given the fastest possible reflex by working hard and hard, and said, "According to the findings so far, 912 of our citizens have lost their lives and 5 of our citizens have been injured. The number of people rescued from the rubble reached 385. The number of buildings found to be destroyed is 2.” said.
Stating that it is not known how high the number of dead and injured will rise, President Erdoğan said:
“Our hope is that we have survived this disaster with the least loss of life. Of course, it is of great importance that transportation and communication are carried out in such periods. For this, especially the roads leading to the wreckage areas should be kept open and communication tools should be used only when necessary. Persons and institutions that will go to the region for help must act in coordination with AFAD. Aids sent to the region outside the coordination of AFAD both cause turmoil and make it difficult to reach their goal.
Contacts with our country have also started to be established for international aid. In addition to NATO and the European Union, we received aid offers from 45 countries. I wish God's mercy on our citizens who lost their lives in this great disaster, and a speedy recovery to our wounded. I hope we will leave these disastrous days behind in unity and solidarity as a country and nation. Day; 85 million is the day to be one heart, one wrist. I convey my best wishes to our brothers and sisters in our country and in all geographies where the earthquake was felt. I pray that my Lord will protect our country and all humanity from such disasters.”
Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Şentop, Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Bilgin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, AK Party Deputy Chairman Binali Yıldırım and Communications Director Fahrettin Altun also attended the meeting at the AFAD Coordination Center.
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