A collection of over 20 photographs depicting the areas of Türkiye affected by the recent earthquake were exhibited in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States Monday.
The "Disaster of the Century" exhibition at the Congressional Rayburn House Office Building was organized by the Turkish Presidency's Directorate of Communications and featured images that depict the devastation caused by the Feb. 6 earthquakes.
In his remarks opening the event, Ziya Altunyaldiz, a Turkish lawmaker from the Justice and Development (AK) Party, said the disaster in February was unprecedented.
Altunyaldiz, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology, said aid was rushed to Türkiye due to the powerful magnitude of the quakes.
Altunyaldiz is in the U.S. as part of a delegation conducting public diplomacy events regarding earthquakes.
Altunyaldiz also thanked South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson, who led a resolution to recognize the earthquake victims and honor the responders in Türkiye and Syria.
Wilson, a co-chair of the Caucus on U.S.-Türkiye Relations and Turkish Americans, said he was "really grateful" that the resolution passed the House floor in late February.
Texas Republican Representative Pete Sessions also spoke at the event, saying the U.S. stands with Türkiye.
"Tonight, we remember, most pointedly, the news that took the place of not just the earthquake but the terrible aftershocks," said Sessions, a caucus member.
"The men and women who dedicated themselves to helping others should be remembered positively," he added.
Attended by Türkiye's Ambassador to the U.S., Hasan Murat Mercan, the three-hour exhibition drew members of the Turkish American community and American academics, among others.
