Monday’s quakes in Türkiye were 3 times stronger than major 1999 quake, says president

The powerful twin earthquakes which hit southern Türkiye this week were three times stronger than the major 1999 Marmara earthquake in the country’s northwest, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

“They were three times more powerful and destructive than the 1999 earthquake, which was recorded as the biggest disaster in our country’s history,” Erdogan said in the southeastern Diyarbakir province, a quake-hit area he is visiting to inspect search and rescue efforts.

“They are also recorded to be much larger and more destructive disaster than the 1939 Erzincan earthquake,” he added.

The Erzincan quake in eastern Türkiye took some 33,000 lives, while the 1999 Marmara earthquake took some 18,000.

Erdogan later visited Sanliurfa and said at least 21,848 people have been killed and 80,104 others injured since the twin earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, hit southern Türkiye on Monday.

“Currently, 160,000 personnel are working in 10 provinces, together with teams from abroad,” said Erdogan, who also met with quake victims in Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Hatay, Gaziantep, Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

No one left on the streets

Saying that seven out of 320 damaged buildings in Diyarbakir completely collapsed, Erdogan added that at least 255 people died and 901 others were injured.

The Turkish leader also expressed gratitude to all “friendly” countries for showing solidarity with the Turkish nation by sending search and rescue teams after the quakes.

Erdogan earlier pledged to rebuild the quake-hit region as part of a yearlong plan.

“We plan to rebuild hundreds of thousands of houses, including their infrastructure and superstructure, and restore our cities damaged by earthquakes,” he said.

The government, he said, has mobilized “all the means,” and urged everyone to “trust and believe that we did not and will not leave our citizens on the streets in misery or poverty.”

During a visit to Sanliurfa, Erdogan said the Turkish government is preparing programs “to relieve the suffering of our earthquake victims and make their life easier.”

“460,000 of our citizens are accommodated in schools, dormitories, practice hotels, and teacher’s houses affiliated with the National Education Ministry. There are 1.1 million people in temporary accommodation centers,” he said.

The Turkish president further stressed that they have encountered “many obstacles that exceeded human will” during the course of disaster and added: “There have been some delays and disruptions in some areas, but no one can deny the sincere struggle of our state to stand by our citizens struck by earthquake.”

On Twitter, Erdogan thanked the “teams and volunteers for working selflessly despite freezing temperatures, lack of sleep, and many other difficulties.”

“No matter how great our pain is, I sincerely believe we will overcome all obstacles by standing together as a state and a nation,” he added.

First foreign minister to visit since quakes

Separately, the Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers held a press conference in Kahramanmaras, the quakes’ epicenter.

Mevlut Cavusoglu accompanied Jeyhun Bayramov, who is the first foreign minister to visit Türkiye in the wake of the devastating quakes.

Saying that Azerbaijan was the first country to answer Türkiye’s call for aid, Cavusoglu said, quoting a standard saying: “This is an indication that we are two states, but one nation, and that our joy and destiny are the same.”

Noting that there are 900 search and rescue personnel from Azerbaijan in the earthquake-hit regions, the Turkish foreign minister said the number of people rescued by the Azerbaijani search and rescue teams recently rose to 50.

On international aid, Cavusoglu said at least 99 countries have so far offered aid.

“Currently, teams from 68 countries are on the ground. There are personnel from 8,326 friendly countries in total,” he said adding that 1,563 others from 13 countries will be dispatched to Türkiye later Saturday.

More than 20 countries offered Türkiye to establish 23 field hospitals, Cavusoglu said, adding that these facilities are “the best equipped.”

“The number of countries with active hospitals is eight, and there are 10 field hospitals in total at the moment,” he added.

For his part, Bayramov hailed the ties between Türkiye and Azerbaijan and vowed to stand in solidarity with Türkiye and the Turkish nation at all times.

Saying that everyone in Azerbaijan was also struck by the deadly quake, Bayramov said at least five Azerbaijani citizens were killed when the earth shook.