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Turkey Races To Build Container Cities As Death Toll Exceeds 48,000



The death toll in the Republic of Turkey from last month's destructive earthquakes has risen to 48,448, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday.

The combined death count in Syria and Turkey has reached more than 54,000. The February 6 earthquake affected 11 Turkish provinces and parts of neighbouring Syria.

Turkish authorities are rushing to set up container cities to house those left homeless by the disaster. Many people have been impacted by the earthquake in Turkey. Millions of people in Turkey are sheltering in tents or seeking to move to other cities.

Turkish Interior Minister said that 6,660 foreign nationals, mostly Syrians, were killed due to the destructive earthquake. He further revealed that authorities were still trying to identify 1,615 earthquake victims.

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, pledged to rebuild homes for homeless people within a year. The President said that his government would begin constructing nearly 200,000 new homes in the Hatay province, one of the worst-hit regions. The Turkish president visited Hatay province on Sunday.

The Turkish Interior Minister said that the government has planned to set up 115,585 containers for affected families in 239 sites across the country. He revealed that 23 sites had been established so far in the country and 21,000 containers were set up, with 85,000 people living in them.

He also said that 433,536 tents had been set up for earthquake victims in the country. He revealed that businesses affected by the earthquakes would be given new temporary workplaces in the next 10 days.

On 6 February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing thousands of people across the region. Subsequently, other countries and non-governmental organisations started sending relief aid to Turkey and Syria in order to help earthquake victims across the region.

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