Turkey declares 3-month state of emergency in quake-hit provinces

Ankara [Turkey], February 7 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Tuesday, declared three-month state of emergency in 10 southern provinces which was hit by massive quakes, Anadolu Agency reported.
While addressing the State Information Coordination Center in the capital Ankara, Erdogan said, "Based on the authority given to us by Article 119 of the Constitution, we decided to declare a state of emergency."
"We will quickly complete the presidential and parliamentary processes about the state of emergency decision, which will cover 10 provinces where earthquakes have occurred and will last for three months," he added.
Erdogan's remarks came after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake early Monday struck the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province, then about nine hours later, a 7.6 magnitude quake centered in Kahramanmaras's Elbistan district rocked the region, affecting several other provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa, according to Anadolu Agency.
The earthquake was also felt in several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon.
"We are facing one of the biggest disasters not only of the history of the Turkish Republic but also of our geography and the world," Erdogan said.
At least 3,549 people were killed and 22,168 others injured in 10 provinces after two strong earthquakes, according to the president.
"Our biggest relief is that over 8,000 of our citizens have been rescued from the rubble so far," Erdogan said.
Stating that experts describe these two earthquakes as "exceptional ground movements that are independent of each other but trigger each other and that have no example in the world," Erdogan said, "Both earthquakes were experienced at a distance of 7 kilometers on earth that exponentially increased the severity of the destruction."
"It has caused great destruction in a very wide area compared to their counterparts. Therefore, we are faced with one of the biggest disasters not only in our Republic's history but also in our geography and the world. Our state, with all its institutions, organizations, personnel, tools, equipment, and facilities, has been in the disaster areas with the spirit of mobilization from the first moment of the earthquake. started to work." he said.
Taking into account the devastating effect of the earthquake that spread to 10 cities, Erdogan emphasized that they ordered expert personnel and vehicles from all over the country to immediately move to the region and that despite the difficulties caused by the weather conditions, the teams struggled selflessly to reach the disaster area and participate in the work, reported Anadolu Agency.
Earlier, Turkey declared seven days of national mourning and the flag have been lowered to half-staff.