Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declares state of emergency for three months for earthquake-hit regions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for three months across ten provinces ravaged by the earthquakes which killed thousands of people in the country.

In a televised address, the Turkish President said, a state of emergency is being declared to ensure that the rescue and recovery work can be carried out quickly. President Erdogan said, they are declaring ten cities impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Southern Turkiye as a disaster zone.

Noting that 70 countries offered help in search and rescue operations, Mr Erdogan announced that the government planned to open up hotels in Antalya to temporarily house people affected by the earthquakes.

According to the Turkish authorities, around one crore 35 lakh people were affected in the quake-hit area which spanned 450 kilometres from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east and from Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south.