Among the 11 provinces destroyed by the earthquake, Hatay is undoubtedly the most damaged province. While 24 thousand 147 people lost their lives in the province, which turned into rubble after the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 80 thousand 323 buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged.
In Hatay, which has a history of thousands of years, 21 historical buildings, which are the symbols of the city, such as hospitals, schools, public buildings, the Parliament Building and the Antakya Greek Orthodox Church, were completely destroyed in the earthquake. Almost the entire infrastructure of the city was damaged. There were collapses on the landing field at the airport. After the earthquake, 563 thousand 751 people living in the city migrated to other places.
According to Hatay Governor Mustafa Masatlı, from the first moment of the earthquake, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as all state institutions and non-governmental organizations, mobilized for the city of Hatay, which was destroyed.
“Hatay should be declared a special disaster area”
City residents, on the other hand, express that they are victims of many issues and want Hatay, which feels the destruction most deeply in every area, to be declared a ‘Special Disaster Area’ as soon as possible.
Pointing out that the problems still continue even though a year has passed since the earthquake, Ali Emin Yaşar, one of the earthquake victims, called on the authorities for a solution.
“A lot was drawn for 7 thousand 237 permanent residences”
Stating that 215 thousand of the thousands of Hatay residents who were displaced from their homes after the earthquake are currently living in containers, Governor Masatlı pointed out that 97 percent of the debris in the city has been removed.
More than 500 thousand Hatay residents had to leave the city due to the earthquake
Governor Masatlı said, “Of the 563 thousand 751 people who left Hatay after the earthquake, 434 thousand 216 returned.” He stated that the people of Hatay, who protect their city, continue to work to solve their housing problems.
“210 schools were damaged by the earthquake”
Stating that 210 schools were destroyed in the earthquake, Governor Masatlı emphasized that they worked devotedly to solve education-related problems and said, “Before the earthquake, we had 434 thousand 446 students. “Today, we have 396 thousand 953 students receiving education.”
The earthquake also damaged the historical fabric
On the other hand, Hatay Governor Mustafa Masatlı, emphasizing that the fabric of the historical city was also damaged by the earthquakes on February 6, continued his words as follows:
“21 historical buildings under the coordination of the Regional Directorate of Foundations were destroyed, 35 of them received heavy damage and 15 received moderate damage. In line with the decisions made by the scientific committee, we started the tender process for 45 of our historical buildings. We removed the debris of 252 registered buildings on Kurtuluş Street and its surroundings. Here, we keep the stones from the debris of each building in the sorting center. We will benefit from these stones during the reconstruction process. “We have also started the maintenance and repair works of the Hatay Archaeological Museum, the Old Parliament Building and the historical governorship building.”
(Source: Voa Türkçe)
