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Devastating Earthquakes in Southern Türkiye and Northern Syria, December 15th, 2023, Situation Report 30 [EN/TR]

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  1. Developments

Nine months have passed since the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaras, which affected 11 provinces. In its latest statement, the Ministry of Interior stated that the highest number of casualties occurred in Hatay and that 50,783 people died in all regions. The number of migrants who lost their lives in the area was 7,302. 107,000 people were injured in the earthquakes.

Ten months after the earthquake that affected 9 million people, the region's emergency response and recovery efforts continue. Socioeconomic Empowerment Programs and activities such as creating job opportunities, supporting small businesses, and diversifying income sources to improve the economic and social structure have gained significant momentum. In its latest statement, the Ministry of Interior said that Hatay suffered the most casualties, while 107,000 people were injured in the earthquakes. The current number of deaths is reported to be around 150 people.

According to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, 36,932 buildings in the region, including 13,883 in Hatay, 7,295 in Kahramanmaras, 5,826 in Adıyaman, 4,197 in Malatya and 3,805 in Gaziantep, were destroyed in the earthquake. A total of 311 thousand buildings comprising 872 thousand independent sections have become unusable due to their sustained damages. Two hundred forty-five thousand people applied to the "On-site Transformation" campaign launched by the Ministry. At the same time, Iller Bank of Provinces (İLBANK), one of the organizations under the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, will play an essential role in rebuilding the infrastructure of earthquake- affected areas within the scope of the "Türkiye Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Framework Project".

In this context, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the European Investment Bank signed the agreement for the financing of 400 million Euros to be provided by the European Investment Bank. ILBANK will use all the funding for environmental infrastructure projects in the earthquake zone. 1

The earthquake left 3.3 million people homeless and devastated the region's economy. It also severely damaged the unique cultural heritage of this region, which has been home to 13 different civilizations over its thousands of years of history. Of the 8,444 historical buildings in the area, 3,752 were damaged or destroyed. Experts estimate that the cost of reconstruction and restoration is expected to run into billions of dollars. Against this backdrop, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has officially launched a global donor campaign to raise funds to restore damaged or destroyed cultural heritage buildings. 2

1 https://csb.gov.tr/deprem-bolgesinin-altyapisini-ihya-edecek-finansman-ilbank-koordinasyonunda-kullanilacak-bakanlik- faaliyetleri-39887

2 https://www.undp.org/tr/turkiye/press-releases/undp-turkiyedeki-depremlerde-hasar-goren-kulturel-mirasin-restorasyonu-icin- kuresel-bagis-kampanyasi-baslatiyor