President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday commemorated those who lost their lives in 2023's twin earthquakes, on the third anniversary of the disaster.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, 2023, causing widespread destruction across multiple provinces and resulting in over 53,000 fatalities. The disaster triggered one of the largest emergency response and reconstruction efforts in the country’s history.
In a social media post, Erdoğan said the victims would not be forgotten and reaffirmed commitments made to the nation following the earthquakes. He said authorities pledged to preserve the memory of those who died, protect what they left behind and rebuild cities destroyed by the disaster.
“We will not forget our brothers and sisters who lost their lives in the two major earthquakes we experienced three years ago today,” Erdoğan said. “We promised our nation that we would always keep their memories alive in our hearts and minds and rebuild our cities destroyed by the earthquake.”
Erdoğan said Türkiye has fulfilled that promise, adding that cities damaged in the earthquakes have been rebuilt within three years.
The post also included a video showing the destruction caused by the earthquakes and reconstruction efforts carried out in the affected region.
