“Disaster of the Century”: year after earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Millions of people across Turkey and Syria on February 6 mourned the loss of more than 60,000 friends, loved ones and neighbors in the region’s catastrophic earthquake a year ago.

To mark what it calls the “Disaster of the Century,” the Turkish government arranged a series of events to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the disaster in southern Turkey.

Hatay was the worst affected of the 11 southern provinces hit by the 7.8 magnitude quake. Including more than 53,500 people killed in Turkey and more than 6,000 people killed in neighboring Syria, the quake left more than 60,000 dead. More than 107,000 others were injured. Nearly 39,000 buildings were officially destroyed across Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be in Kahramanmaras, the earthquake’s epicenter, to inspect the work being done to rebuild the city and rehouse thousands of people who remain in tents and pre-fabricated containers. He also will take part in handing over completed homes to survivors, and then spend the rest of the week touring other cities in the earthquake zone.