Erdoğan: It Has Not Been Possible to Ensure the Necessary Pace of Search for People in the Rubble

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has admitted that the government has not been able to resolve the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and the removal of rubble as quickly as it would like. According to Hurriyet, he made this statement in the city of Adıyaman.

“So many buildings have been destroyed over such a large area that despite assembling the world's largest search and rescue force, over 140,000 people, we still have not been able to accelerate the work to proceed at the right pace,” he said, noting that rescue workers are operating under difficult weather conditions.

“Another obstacle for us has been the fact that the region is currently experiencing an intense winter season that we have not seen in a long time,” the president added.

Erdoğan promised that the government would rebuild the earthquake-affected regions as part of an annual reconstruction program and provide annual rental assistance to those affected by the disaster. “We will ensure that our citizens, who do not want to stay in tents, can move into residential buildings by paying one year’s rent,” Erdoğan said.

According to him, authorities have already begun preliminary construction work. The earthquake has resulted in at least 19,388 deaths and 74,242 injuries, according to the latest data from Turkey's disaster management agency. Since Monday, the country has experienced two powerful earthquakes and over 11,000 aftershocks.