Erdogan: Every lira raised in aid campaign to be spent on quake victims' needs

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that every lira raised during the aid campaign held on February 15 will be spent on the needs of the victims of the deadly powerful earthquake in Turkiye.

"Our goal is to build houses within a year instead of each demolished building, in which it will be possible to live safely and peacefully. In the first stage, the government allocated 100 billion liras. As for this action, every lira collected during today's campaign will be used for the needs of earthquake victims," Anadolu reports citing Erdogan, who contacted by phone the Türkiye One Heart company.

A charity event over the earthquake affecting 11 provinces of Türkiye was launched on February 15 jointly on the TV and radio screens of Türkiye, Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Erdogan expressed his condolences to the relatives and friends of the victims of the devastating earthquake with the epicentre in Kahramanmaras.

He noted that all the resources of the state are aimed at eliminating the consequences of the earthquake, which caused a devastating impact in 11 provinces of the country.

According to the president, over 250,000 people continuously work in the disaster zone.

The fundraising drive raised almost $6 billion. 

Companies, institutions, organisations, and individuals made donations to the campaign, named Turkiye One Heart, via a joint live broadcast through 200 television and 500 radio channels.

Over 35,400 people were killed and 105,500 injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on 6 February, according to the latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 tremors affected 13 million people in Türkiye across 10 provinces. 

In neighbouring Syria, at least 3,688 people were killed and over 14,749 injured.