After two devastating earthquakes, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the nations that helped.
According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the assistance that Turkey has received from the international community in the wake of devastating earthquakes is just another example of how crucial international solidarity is. In a video message on Tuesday, he spoke to attendees of the World Government Summit.
As he expressed gratitude to everyone who helped with relief operations after the calamity that struck Türkiye last week, the president emphasised that his nation “will not forget the helping hand provided in tough times.”
“Some nations launched relief drive initiatives, while others expressed solidarity by sending rescuers to Turkey. Some nations have expressed support for Ankara, Erdogan noted.
On the morning of February 6, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook the province of Gaziantep in southeast Turkey. A few hours later, a nearby province, Kahramanmaras, was also shaken by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake. Unimaginable devastation was caused by the earthquakes in nine provinces of Turkey and in adjacent northern Syria. Rescuers from all around the world are still flying in to assist with the ongoing relief efforts.
Erdogan claimed that the earthquakes, which specialists have compared to the explosion of 500 atomic bombs, have harmed 13.5 million people in Turkey. The president claims that this makes them not just one of the worst natural disasters to ever affect the nation but also all of human history.
Turkish authorities have not yet determined a final estimate of the disaster’s death toll, but the most recent data indicates that more than 33,000 people perished.
Erdogan noted that many of the 81,000 victims of the calamity who were injured have already been released from hospitals. He added that over 8,000 people had been rescued from structures that had collapsed.
According to a business group reported by Bloomberg, the economic cost of the earthquakes has been pegged at an astounding $84 billion in Turkey alone. This represents more than a tenth of the nation’s GDP.
