Today (February 6), Turkey marks the second anniversary of the devastating twin earthquakes that hit the country’s southeast on the morning of February 6th, 2023. At the earthquake’s epicenter in Kahramanmaraş, a ceremony was organized in the early hours of the morning to correspond with the exact time (4:17am) that the earthquake struck two years ago.
The ceremony took place at the city’s central clocktower and included the attendance of numerous politicians and public officials. In Adıyaman, another city affected by the quake, small businesses chose to remain closed in commemoration of the disaster.
Turkey’s Interior Minister shares message regarding reconstruction efforts
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a message Wednesday evening saying that reconstruction efforts are ongoing in the earthquake-affected region:
“As President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated, ‘We will not rest until the earthquake-affected cities are completely back on their feet.’ We are united and stand tall in the face of difficulties.”
Reconstruction efforts fall behind original targets
Just one month after the earthquakes in March 2023, President Erdoğan announced that “We will deliver 650,000 new housing units to citizens affected by the earthquake, 319,000 of which will be finished within the next year.’
Although thousands of earthquake survivors have been resettled in new government-built housing stock, reconstruction efforts continue to fall behind original targets from 2023. Two years after the tragedy, latest figures show that 201,431 new units have been completed and settled in by displaced citizens, short of targets even set for the first year and only 31% of the total number originally promised.
- 7.7 scale earthquake in Southeastern Turkey: At least 912 dead, 5,385 wounded
- Earthquake in Southeastern Turkey: Tuesday morning updates
Erdoğan later revised originally announced goals, proclaiming that by the end of 2024, 200,000 units would have been completed. Environment and Urban Planning Minister Murat Kurum recently promised that all displaced earthquake survivors would be housed by the end of 2025. An announcement last month also shared a revised goal of 421,000 total new housing units, a significant reduction from the 650,000 originally discussed.
In the southeastern city of Adıyaman, which lost some 28% of its housing stock in the earthquakes, 68% of homes have been rebuilt or replaced. Many residents continue to live in temporary container housing which they moved into immediately following the quakes.
Key delivery ceremonies in which public officials, including President Erdoğan, hand off keys to new housing units to earthquake victims have received coverage in the press but have also been criticized as theatrics while reconstruction efforts fail to meet targets.
Gentrification concerns
Turkey’s public housing agency (TOKİ), is responsible for the building of new units, which are contracted to construction companies in a tender process run by TOKİ authorities. TOKİ claims the new buildings are earthquake-resistant, and that its existing buildings survived the 2023 quake without any structural damage. Neighborhoods rebuilt by TOKİ have been criticized for turning historic neighborhoods of Turkey’s southeastern cities into monotone districts containing dozens of identical buildings.
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Controversy over ‘Reserve area’ plan in Hatay
A plan to raze and redevelop areas of the earthquake region following the earthquake — known as the ‘Reserve area’ plan (rezerv alanı) — has been a major source of controversy due to its stipulation of expropriation of homeowners in these areas. The plan promises to transfer expropriated properties to the Turkish Treasury and compensate homeowners with new property, provided they contribute to construction expenses. Additionally, the plan includes the demolition of some buildings and neighborhoods that actually remained standing following the tremors, raising eyebrows and angering local residents.
The plan has also been criticized for lack of clarity on important details, such as how much property owners must contribute to construction expenses, and where the new homes will be built. Rules have shifted rapidly and arbitrarily since the introduction of the plan, with some residents reportedly being told that they are permitted to stay in their buildings provided they perform certain renovations, only to be evicted months later.
Protests against the rezerv alanı plan have been ongoing for months, particularly in Hatay, Turkey’s worst-hit province.
Written for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
