In Türkiye on February 6 last year, tragic events occurred – earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 were recorded in the country.

The country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority announced that the epicenter was in Kahramanmaraş. The destruction badly damaged Malatya, Şanlıurfa, and Gaziantep. Thousands of people died under the rubble of multi-storey buildings, and millions of people were left homeless in the cold winter.

It has been a year since the Turkish people have been eliminating the consequences of this disaster and providing assistance to the victims.

On February 9-12, media representatives from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan visited Kahramanmarash, Adiyaman, and Malatya to study the activities of government institutions and organizations after the earthquake, the development of healthcare, education, urban planning, and restoration of rural houses, infrastructure, and cultural heritage sites.

In Kahramanmaraş, home to 1,170,000 people, provincial governor Mükerrem Ünlüer informed about the reconstruction of houses, the construction of schools, sports grounds, and offices, as well as the assistance provided to the population.

“Eliminating the consequences of strong earthquakes, the magnitude of which was 7.6 and 7.7, causes great difficulties”, says Mükerrem Ünlüer. “7,491 buildings were destroyed in Kahramanmaraş, and 53,945 structures were damaged. Removing debris continues at an accelerated pace. This process is 93.68 percent complete. Temporary containers were created for the population in which, until recently, 1,900,000 people lived. Now 580,000 people live in 345 towns”.

Under the chairmanship of the Director of the Kahramanmaraş Museum at Harran University, the Department of Earthquake Archeology is conducting active excavations.

After the earthquake, five emergency hospitals with 400 beds were opened. The tender for the 1,000-bed city hospital project, included in the investment program of the Turkish Ministry of Health, is scheduled to be held this month.

On the second day of the press tour, journalists will visit Adıyaman, and on the third – Malatya.

UzA website will inform about the situation in the regions and the large-scale work carried out by the Turkish government.

Bekhruz Khudoyberdiyev, photos by Nozimjon Mardonov, UzA

Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye.