Turkish President declares 3-month emergency in 10 quake-hit provinces

Turkish President Erdogan declares a state of emergency for three months in 10 quake-hit provinces on Tuesday.

“We have decided to declare a state of emergency to ensure that our [rescue and recovery] work can be carried out quickly,” Erdogan said in a televised address on Tuesday from the State Information Coordination Center in the capital Ankara.

“Based on the authority given to us by Article 119 of the Constitution, we decided to declare a state of emergency,” Erdogan said. 

Turk President’s address comes a day after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in southern Turkey.

“We will quickly complete the presidential and parliamentary processes about the state of emergency decision, which will cover 10 provinces where earthquakes have occurred and will last for three months,” he added.

President  Erdogan said 70 countries had offered help in search and rescue operations and that Turkey planned to open up hotels in the tourism hub of Antalya, to the west, to temporarily house people affected by the quakes.

“Our biggest relief is that over 8,000 of our citizens have been rescued from the rubble so far,” Erdogan added.

He said that the death toll in Turkey had risen to 3,549, with the total number of people killed, including those in northern Syria, exceeding 5,000.

On the other hand, frantic search and rescue operations are currently underway for a second consecutive day amid freezing temperatures in the quake-hit region.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Türkiye and Syria on Monday is most likely to be one of the deadliest on record since 1939.