Turkish president marks 3rd anniversary of 2023 earthquakes, says rebuilding promises were kept

ISTANBUL

The Turkish president on Friday commemorated those who lost their lives in the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes in southern Türkiye on the third anniversary of the disaster, saying the government had kept its promise to rebuild the devastated cities within short order.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan commemorated the victims of the twin earthquakes that struck 11 provinces three years ago, stressing the state’s continued commitment to preserve their memory and to restore the affected regions.

“We will not forget our brothers and sisters who met the mercy of the Most Merciful due to the two major earthquakes we experienced three years ago today,” Erdogan said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

“We promised our nation that we would always keep their memories alive in our hearts and minds, protect what they entrusted to us, and raise our cities that were destroyed by the earthquake back to their feet. Today, with Allah’s permission, we have overcome this challenge and rebuilt and revived our cities in as short a time as three years. We kept our word.”

Erdogan’s post also included a video showing the scale of destruction caused by the earthquakes and subsequent reconstruction efforts carried out across the region.

The Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes, centered in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, caused widespread devastation across multiple provinces in southern Türkiye, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure and housing.

The president is also due to attend memorial services for the quakes’ victims later Friday.

• 2023 earthquakes
• Disaster
• Feb. 6
• Kahramanmaras
• Natural disaster
• Recap Tayyaip Erdogan
• Turkiye