Turkey begins work on building houses in two quake-hit towns

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ANKARA, Turkey – Initial works have begun on building housing for people displaced by the massive earthquake that has struck parts of the country and neighboring Syria, killing tens of thousands, Turkish authorities said Friday.

Murat Corum, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, said on Twitter that excavation work is taking place in the towns of Nordağı and Islah in Gaziantep province, where the government plans to build an initial 855 homes.

The action comes less than three weeks after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck, killing more than 47,000 people in Turkey and Syria – the vast majority in Turkey. Turkish authorities say about 173,000 buildings, including about 534,000 apartments or other units, either collapsed or were badly damaged in the Feb. 6 earthquake and other strong tremors likely linked to it.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faces tough elections in May or June, has promised to rebuild homes within the year, though critics have warned that moving too quickly could only lead to more substandard homes being built.

Opposition parties have also held Erdogan’s government – which has been in power for the past two decades – responsible for the scale of the disaster, accusing it of failing to enforce building regulations.

Experts say many of the demolished structures were built with inferior materials and methods, often not complying with government standards.

On Friday, the United Nations Children’s Fund said more than a million people are in temporary accommodation, including gyms, playgrounds, hotels and dormitories, with limited access to basic services.

“Children and families who survived the earthquake now face homelessness, lack of food and water, and temperatures that regularly drop below freezing at night,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.

Corum, the Minister for Urbanization, posted a video of the excavators clearing the terrain.

“All our efforts are (directed) towards returning homes to our citizens as quickly as possible,” he wrote. “We immediately started work in the areas where we signed the contracts and completed the ground survey work.”

Earlier on Friday, Erdogan issued a decree enabling individuals, companies or organizations to, among other things, build houses or offices and donate them to the Ministry of Generosity which will then give it to people who have lost their homes or businesses.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said late Thursday that 583 contractors or other people suspected of responsibility for the collapsed buildings were being investigated, and 171 had been arrested.

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