site.btaTurkiye's President on 2023 Earthquakes Anniversary: "In Short Period of Three Years, We Rebuilt Our Cities"

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan published on Friday a video message on his official social media accounts marking the third anniversary of the February 6, 2023, earthquakes in Southern Turkiye, which claimed more than 53,000 lives and injured over 107,000 people.

The devastating quakes caused the collapse or severe damage of 800,000 buildings.

In his message, including archival footage illustrating the scale of the natural disaster, Erdogan said: “In a short period of three years, we rebuilt and restored our cities".

According to the latest data from Turkiye’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, 455,000 housing units and buildings designated for workplaces have now been delivered in the earthquake-affected areas. More than 200,000 architects have been involved in the reconstruction work.

A report by Turkiye's Presidency of Strategy and Budget indicates that a total of TRY 3.6 trillion (approximately USD 91.5 billion) has been invested in reconstruction efforts in the hardest-hit provinces of Hatay and Kahramanmaras.