Turkish government allocates over $5 billion to deal with quake aftermath

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the government allocated 100 billion Turkish liras ($5.3 billion) to eliminate the quake aftermath.

He noted that coordinators had been appointed in the quake-hit areas to manage issues on eliminating the disastrous consequences, the Turkish newspaper  Hurriyet reported.

Up to 1,000 ambulance crews are treating the injured. As many as 5,000 health workers are involved in the process. Infantry forces, 10 naval vessels and 54 high-capacity transport aircraft of the Air Force, as well as 26 police cargo planes, are involved in search and rescue operations, evacuations and cargo deliveries. Emergency services handed over 54,000 tents, 102,000 mattresses and other relief items to victims.

According to Erdogan, drones have been procured to accurately determine the impact of the earthquake. Thousands of construction vehicles are already being sent to the region to carry out reconstruction work.