Presidency’s Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun indicated that their government is fully committed to providing shelter to anyone who needs, saying "Our President has also announced our government’s agreements with hotels in a number of neighbouring cities to transfer our citizens from the makeshift temporary tents. All expenses including the food will be met by our government.”
In his post on social media, Director of Communications Altun provided information about earthquake relief efforts and noted that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the region affected by the earthquake, including Kahramanmaraş, Pazarcık, Hatay, İskenderun and Adana.
Stating that President Erdoğan would continue his visits to the other regions affected by the earthquake, Director of Communications Altun noted:
"During his visit, President Erdoğan expressed his unshaken belief in our people’s resilience in the face of this historic calamity just like they have endured other disasters in the past. He underlined the need for national unity at a time of an unprecedented crisis like this and emphasized the fact that our government is fully mobilized and working with local municipalities and civil society under the coordination of AFAD."
Director of Communications Altun indicated that despite the challenges in the first day of response due to winter conditions and the second major earthquake some nine hours afterwards, search and rescue efforts in the field became even stronger in the following days, and added that they are still in the search and rescue phase of their efforts, and they will not stop until they find everyone they can.
Director of Communications Altun recalled that President Erdoğan set the goal of full recovery and reconstruction in these 10 cities within a year, an achievable target as they did in previous national disasters, and went on to say,
“Our government is fully committed to providing shelter to anyone who needs it in the meantime. Our President has also announced our government’s agreements with hotels in a number of neighbouring cities to transfer our citizens from the makeshift temporary tents. All expenses including the food will be met by our government. Full mobilization of our coordination centres in every city will allow us to overcome the initial challenges such as road closures and airport access among others. Today, we are in a much better position to address all challenges including fuel oil shortages and heating needs.
Our President particularly emphasized the need to fight against provocateurs who use disinformation to create confusion and distress among our people. Their aim is to hamper our efforts and break the will of our people. President Erdoğan also announced emergency cash payments to affected citizens that will allow them to pay for their immediate needs. He once again underlined our appreciation of the resilience of our people and their incredible efforts to save their brethren. President Erdoğan’s visit to the region and the measures he announced are a testament to his much-needed strong leadership at a time like this.”
Director of Communication Altun indicated that as President Erdoğan reminded all, they would not only survive this but emerge even stronger as a unified nation, saying “This is no time for politics, and we strongly condemn some statements made by some political figures that seek to sow divisions. We are going through a difficult time as a nation. We call on everyone to avoid making irresponsible statements and to be part of the solution.”