ANKARA, Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said enforcement of stricter building regulations was needed in the country after a powerful earthquake that rocked southern Turkey last week, killing tens of thousands people.
More than seven million children have been affected by the massive earthquake and a major aftershock that devastated Turkey and Syria last week, the United Nations has said, voicing fear that “many thousands” more had died.
Türkiye’s Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum has announced that 50,576 damaged buildings have to be “immediately” demolished in the earthquake-hit areas of the country.
Kurum issued the statement on Wednesday as the country continues to grapple with the deadliest disaster in 100 years.
According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, more than 35,000 people have died as a result of last week’s quake, making it the deadliest of such disasters in Türkiye since the founding of the republic 100 years ago.
The 35,418 reported deaths surpassed those recorded from the massive Erzincan earthquake in 1939 which killed around 33,000 people.
Amid the mounting death toll, Turkish search and rescue teams saved on Wednesday a woman who was trapped in the rubble for 222 hours.
In neighbouring Syria, the number of deaths reached 5,814, according to the latest figures, bringing the total death toll from both countries to over 41,232.
