Speaking at the Symposium on the Recovery of the Century: From February 6 Earthquakes to a Stronger Future, held at the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, Minister of Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change Murat Kurum emphasised that February 6 is a day of great sadness for the nation.
Stating, ''Whenever I attend a meeting on earthquake, I recall how we gathered at AFAD on the night of the earthquake and travelled to the affected region. Believe me; there are no words to describe our state of mind at the time. We were all very sad, as were our friends,'' Minister Kurum added that today, he wanted to talk about hope instead of suffering, about a strong tomorrow instead of sadness.
Minister Kurum remarked that from the very beginning of their efforts on the field under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they have never wavered in their resolve to ease the traces of the earthquake and construct new houses as quickly as possible.
Recalling that approximately 1 million detached units were damaged in the earthquake zone and 1 out of 6 of the buildings in the region were either destroyed or heavily damaged, Minister Kurum said, “14 million of our citizens, that is, approximately 16 per cent of our population, were directly affected by this destruction. Earthquakes affected 11 provinces, 124 districts and 6,929 villages and neighbourhoods."
Noting that the economy of the region, which accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Türkiye's national income, was adversely impacted by the earthquake, Minister Kurum stated that as the state and the nation, we demonstrated the greatest solidarity in history in the face of the greatest disaster in history.
Emphasising that they have been working with all institutions from the very first moment of the earthquake to the present day with the mindset of a “national struggle”, Minister Kurum went on to say:
"The situation I am trying to convey is as follows. In order to overcome such devastation, it is necessary to possess a strong institutional structure, strong political will, decisive leadership and a high sense of solidarity. We currently hold all these four capabilities. Thanks to this capacity, we have entirely ended the critical stage in 11 provinces under the leadership of our President. In the brief period of less than two years following the earthquake, we have made a substantial investment of over 75 billion dollars, that is, 2.6 trillion liras, for the recovery of the century. We have allocated 584 billion liras for the reconstruction of the earthquake zone in our 2025 budget. We distributed the keys to 201,580 residences and workplaces. You should see the joy in this."
Minister Kurum also stated that the Ministry has initiated the construction of all residences that need to be built for their rightful owners and that the Ministry also has renewed the drinking water, sewerage, and rainwater lines that span over 11,000 kilometres, which is equivalent to the length of Türkiye's perimeter.
Earthquakes in the Aegean Sea
Emphasising the theme of the current gathering, "Recovery of the Century", Minister Kurum stated that they are not only constructing homes in 11 provinces but also reconstructing all historical sites in the region, aligning with both architectural traditions and contemporary needs.
Elucidating the efforts that were undertaken at historical sites in Malatya, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, and Adıyaman, Minister Kurum stated, "We will deliver 453 thousand houses and workplaces to our citizens in the entire earthquake zone by the end of 2025. We will not leave a single historical heritage unrestored and a single cultural value unrecovered."
Underscoring that Anatolia is a region prone to earthquakes, Minister Kurum stressed the importance of acknowledging the harsh reality of earthquakes, as no one wishes to see a mother waiting for her child to be rescued from the rubble or vice versa.
Minister Kurum said that a building in Konya province collapsed spontaneously as the keys for the 201 thousandth house were being delivered.
Pointing out the earthquakes in the Aegean Sea, Minister Kurum also noted the following:
"These earthquakes are concentrated in an area where there is a volcano 6.5 kilometres northeast of Santorini Island in the Aegean Sea. The area experienced a similar intense seismic activity in 2011-2012, but it did not result in any volcanic activity. Now there is a similar activity, and it is causing tremors. The crucial aspect for us is the message conveyed by the spontaneous collapse of these buildings and the ongoing tremors. And that message is clear. Both incidents have once again highlighted the urgency of our preparedness efforts and their significance to our national security.
Today, we cannot afford another earthquake, particularly in İstanbul. Sadly, neither İstanbul nor the country is resilient enough to withstand such an earthquake. Among the 7.5 million residences and offices in İstanbul, 1.5 million have been classified as being at high risk. Regrettably, as was the case with the building in Konya, 600,000 houses in İstanbul, where millions of our brothers and sisters reside, are susceptible to collapse at any moment. This is the reason I believe that we must expedite the transformation processes that we have initiated in İstanbul. We are making genuine and diligent efforts at the state level to fulfil our fair share. So far, we have completed the transformation of 907,000 independent units in İstanbul."
I, Murat Kurum, have devoted myself to building a resilient Türkiye against earthquakes."
Minister Kurum noted that the transformation of 193,000 houses and workplaces in İstanbul, as well as the housing units included in the "Half on Us" campaign, is currently underway.
"An earthquake may occur at any moment. We must be prepared for it. We must reconstruct the risky buildings," said Minister Kurum, emphasising that municipalities responsible for urban transformation should abandon all other agendas and unnecessary debates.
Minister Kurum added, "On behalf of the mothers who tell us their concerns in the field and urgently demand transformation, I say: enough is enough. Given the current circumstances, everyone should put their personal issues aside and urgently focus on the issues faced by the nation. Everyone must start the earthquake-resistant transformation for the lives, property, and children of the nation. There is no issue more sacred and primary than the lives of this nation, and there could never be one. We, as the state, will not leave the field even for a single minute; we will continue this struggle day and night for urban transformation and the lives and property of our citizens. I, Murat Kurum, as a son of this homeland, as a servant of this nation, have devoted myself to building a resilient Türkiye against earthquakes."
Minister Kurum said that they continue the urban transformation and social housing projects in all provinces at full speed and that they have managed to provide safe and secure housing to five million people with the social housing mobilisation to date.
Murat Kurum stated that they had forwarded the Circular on Social Housing Practices to all governorships and asked the governors to identify all available lands suitable for social housing and submit them to the Housing Development Administration of Türkiye (TOKİ), adding, "Hopefully, we will quickly receive the responses and continue to take decisive steps to meet the housing needs of our nation. We will not compromise our struggle until there is no single risky structure left in this country. We will not step away from the earthquake zone until we complete the recovery of the century."