Malatya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Selahattin Gürkan gave information about the rescue and aid efforts carried out in Malatya on February 6, 2023, at the coordination meeting.
“One year has passed since the February 6 earthquakes. We lost 1 thousand citizens in the earthquakes. In Malatya, we lost 53 citizens. I wish God's mercy to all our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake. I pray for patience for those left behind. I was in Japan before the earthquake, again the topic was the earthquake. We went there to investigate the earthquake issue. We landed in Ankara from Japan on the night of the earthquake. When the earthquake occurred at 248 on February 6, 2023, we immediately went to Malatya. Our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called us at 04.17:05.00. They stated that coordinator ministers were assigned to Malatya. At that time, we were coming from Ankara by road and were getting information about the situation in Malatya. In the first earthquake, 132 of our buildings were reduced to rubble. At the Command Control Point, our municipality and fire brigades were in charge of the 132 collapsed buildings from the 5th, 12th and 17th minutes. In other words, we had search and rescue teams at the rubble in the first 5 minutes in the center of Malatya, and in the 12th and 17th minutes of the earthquake in Doğanşehir Kürtova District and Erkenek District. Maybe you will ask this question? How to be in Erkenek at the 17th minute? We had previously created base areas to prevent the roads from being closed. Both MASKİ, fire brigade and our teams affiliated with our Road Asphalt Department in our base areas were channeled to provide immediate intervention. When we look at it, the fact that the roads of 718 neighborhoods of Malatya are open while the main roads are closed is the most basic indicator of how prepared we are as a municipality for an earthquake.
As it is known, our municipality played a leading role in the subsequent processes, namely, the construction of tents, containers, temporary workplaces, and the laying of the foundations of permanent residences and workplaces, that is, from the beginning to the end of the process. Everything is about infrastructure, superstructure and environmental regulations. Our municipality has provided all kinds of opportunities to our citizens in terms of bread, water, food and transportation for 8 months. In the first 3 days of the earthquake, 350 thousand citizens were evacuated to other provinces by road, air, railway and ferries. By making the city more sparse, response to earthquakes has become faster. Infrastructure and superstructure operations of current workplaces and container cities have been carried out by our municipality in the dominant role. May God never inflict such pain on our nation again, I wish God's mercy on our deceased brothers and patience to their relatives. I wish health and well-being to those left behind. “I hope our city will recover as soon as possible.”
Additionally, during the meeting, AFAD made a presentation to the participants about the latest status of the work done.
EARTHQUAKE MARTYRS ARE NOT FORGOTTEN
On the anniversary of the February 6, 2023 earthquakes, the earthquake martyrs were commemorated with prayers at their graves. In the commemoration program held with the participation of the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the earthquake martyrs, the Earthquake Martyrs Monument and the graves of the earthquake martyrs were visited and carnations were left on their graves.
