KOCAELI (IGFA) – Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality commemorated those who lost their lives on the 11st anniversary of the earthquakes that affected 1 provinces centered in Kahramanmaraş, which was described as the disaster of the century. Kocaeli Governor Seddar Yavuz, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tahir Büyükakın, AK Party AK Party MKYK Member Mahir Ünal, AK Party Provincial Chairman Şahin Talus, provincial directors, association presidents and many citizens attended the program. The 6 February Commemoration and Commemoration program, held in front of the Fevziye Mosque, started with the recitation of the Quran and prayers. After the noon prayer, a funeral prayer in absentia was performed and the earthquake martyrs were commemorated. Protocol members then visited the exhibition consisting of photographs taken in the earthquake area.
“WE CONTINUE TO HEAL THE WOUNDS”
The disaster of the century, which occurred a year ago today and in which 53 thousand 537 of our citizens lost their lives, was not forgotten in Kocaeli, as in the whole country. Speaking at the program held in this context, Mayor Büyükakın started his speech by wishing God's mercy for the earthquake martyrs. Stating that every segment of the society in Kocaeli came to help and flocked there, Mayor Büyükakın said, “That day, everyone went to bed and closed their eyes with countless dreams about the next day. When they opened their eyes, some of them woke up to a completely different disaster, while others could not. We experienced something similar on August 17, 1999. May God bless our citizens, they literally helped the earthquake areas. We continue to heal the wounds from the first moment. We still haven't taken our hands off it. "I would like to express my gratitude to all the volunteers of Kocaeli," he said.
“LET'S PREPARE THIS CITY FOR AN EARTHQUAKE”
Mayor Büyükakın also touched upon the importance of being prepared for possible disasters and continued his words as follows; “In addition to carrying out commemoration events, we must also be prepared for the earthquake. So the main thing is that the buildings do not collapse in the earthquake. We must take precautions for that. There are 1999 thousand buildings in Kocaeli built before the 160 earthquake. I have shared this on various occasions. These buildings were scanned and completed together with both our universities and our chamber of engineers. With God's permission, we need to make efforts to renew these in the coming period. If we are delayed here, God forbid, and if the buildings are not ready and the people are not ready, unfortunately we will have to live the same stories again. That's why I actually want this from all our non-governmental organizations; "Let's prepare this city for the earthquake in advance."
“OUR NATION FLOWED LIKE A RIVER”
In his speech, MKYK Member Ünal explained that all units, institutions and bodies of the state are in the region. Stating that the greatness of a nation can be understood in times of difficulty, Ünal said, “I am once again honored to belong to this nation. Once again I felt proud. We saw how great a nation this nation is on the night of July 15, when it defended its state with its bare hands. But we also saw him defending his nation during the February 6 earthquakes. Despite two major earthquakes, this nation flowed like a river. May God not make us experience such great pain again. "Here in Kocaeli, I would like to thank our brothers from Kocaeli and our Metropolitan Mayor once again," he said.
“WE SHOULD SUPPORT URBAN TRANSFORMATION”
Governor Yavuz said, “The most important feature of great nations is their reflexes in critical periods. There were people of all ages at the charity collection center. We did not need to recheck any aid supplies coming from Kocaeli. I would like to thank all Kocaeli residents. May God protect us from all disasters. "We have to take more precautions, support urban transformation and transform our cities," he said.
"NOTHING WILL BE THE SAME"
Speaking on behalf of the regional associations, Enis Göçer, President of the Kocaeli Kahramanmaraş Association, said that the painful situation of the February 6 earthquakes became evident as the day wore on. Explaining that February 2 turned into a painful disaster with the second earthquake, Göçer said, “From that day on, nothing in the region has been and will never be the same. Kocaeli knows best what an earthquake means. When I go to Kahramanmaraş and say 'I come from Kocaeli', the looks turn into loyalty. They gave us great support. “We thank all our citizens,” he said..
