Erdoğan hands over keys to 455,000 homes built after 2023 earthquake

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has handed over keys to new homes built for victims of the devastating earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye in February 2023.

Speaking at a ceremony attended by local residents, Erdoğan said that more than 455,000 residential and commercial units have now been completed in the affected regions, Caliber.Az reports via Turkish media.

According to the president, the reconstruction effort has surpassed the government’s initial target of 453,000 homes by the end of the year.

“Fourteen million of our citizens were affected by this disaster, and thousands of buildings were destroyed. We faced losses exceeding $150 billion,” Erdoğan said.

“We promised to deliver 453,000 homes to our brothers and sisters affected by the earthquake by the end of the year. As of today, we have completed the construction of 455,357 buildings.”

Erdoğan added that in Hatay province alone, 153,755 residential and commercial units have been built, with keys being handed over to residents during the ceremony.

On February 6, 2023, a devastating series of earthquakes struck southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria. The first major quake, measuring 7.8 magnitude, hit at 4:17 a.m. local time, with its epicentre near Gaziantep. It was followed hours later by a 7.7 magnitude aftershock further north, and thousands of smaller tremors. Over 53,000 in Türkiye and about 6,000–8,000 in Syria, totalling more than 59,000 lives lost—one of the deadliest disasters in the region in modern history.

Hundreds of thousands of buildings collapsed or were severely damaged. Cities like Hatay (Antakya), Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, and Malatya were among the hardest hit.

By Khagan Isayev