Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that more than 114,000 citizens were rescued from under the rubble, two weeks after the earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, killing more than 46,000 people.

Erdogan revealed, during his visit to the earthquake-hit state of Hatay, that his country's authorities have provided shelter to date for one million and 684 thousand citizens affected by the earthquake.

He stressed that they aim in the first phase to allocate 100,000 prefabricated houses in the earthquake zone, with the possibility of raising the number to 200,000 if necessary.

He added that within one year, citizens living in tents and prefabricated houses will be moved to permanent apartments, and stated that work to determine the extent of damages in the quake zones is about to be completed.

Erdogan pointed out that the rubble of nearly 21,000 buildings in the affected areas has been removed.

He stressed that his government is employing all its energies for reconstruction, promising to complete it within a year.

The Turkish president indicated that ready-made food is being distributed to nearly two million and 400 thousand citizens in the affected areas.


The Turkish authorities had announced the cessation of searching for neighborhoods under the rubble, with the exception of the states of Kahramanmaraş and Hatay.

The Turkish Disaster Management Department revealed the death toll from the earthquake, which rose to 41,156.

According to the authority, more than 265,000 Turkish relief crews have been deployed in the affected areas, including the authority's teams, army and police teams, volunteers, and non-governmental organizations.

In Syria, the Al-Jazeera correspondent said that aid provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to those affected by the earthquake in the northwest of the country entered through the Bab al-Salama crossing, north of Aleppo.

Doctors Without Borders also said that an aid convoy of 14 trucks entered northwestern Syria, to contribute to the earthquake relief operations.

At dawn on February 6, an earthquake of 7.7 degrees struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by another hours later with a magnitude of 7.6, followed by thousands of violent aftershocks, which left great losses in lives and property in both countries.

The total death toll from the earthquake has exceeded 46,000, and many are still believed to be missing.


Continuing aid

In terms of foreign humanitarian aid, work began in Doha today, Monday, to ship 1,400 mobile homes via 6 ships to be sent to Turkey for the benefit of the earthquake victims.

Qatar announced the allocation of 10,000 mobile homes to be sent to the areas affected by the earthquake disaster, the first batch of which included 306 fully equipped homes for living.

The Turkish ambassador to Doha, Mustafa Kokso, indicated that the number of Qatari aircraft carrying urgent aid supplies to Turkey has so far reached 40.

Today, Jordan sent an aid plane loaded with relief materials to help those affected by the earthquake in Turkey.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry stated - in a statement - that the plane that arrived in Kahramanmaraş carried 12 tons of relief and medical aid for those affected by the earthquake.

Saudi television also reported today that the Kingdom had signed project contracts for the benefit of those affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, with more than 183 million Saudi riyals ($48.8 million).