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3 years pass since devastating earthquake in Türkiye

06 February 2026 00:00 (UTC +04:00)

It has been 3 years since two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.8 and 7.5 in southern Türkiye and northwestern Syria claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, APA reports.

The powerful earthquake that hit Gaziantep, Hatay, Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa in Türkiye and Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Latakia in Syria wiped out cities and towns, killing more than 50,000 people in Türkiye and up to 9,000 in Syria.

Four Azerbaijani students were among the dead in Türkiye.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which lasted 65 seconds, was so powerful that it was even felt in Egypt.

The scale of the natural disaster can also be measured by the work carried out to eliminate the consequences it caused. As a result of the earthquake, which covered 11 provinces of Türkiye, buildings, roads, airports became unusable, historical buildings collapsed, and more than 1 million people were left homeless in minutes.

This was the fifth most destructive earthquake in the last 30 years. According to calculations, Türkiye will need $ 150 billion over 5 years to eliminate the consequences of the disaster.

The operational humanitarian aid activity that was launched immediately after the natural disaster had two main directions - search and rescue and assistance to survivors. The difficult part of the work, of course, was conducting search and rescue operations and extracting people from under the rubble as soon as possible. For this purpose, Türkiye mobilized all its forces to the earthquake zone. However, the country's sole participation in this race against time could not be enough. Therefore, Türkiye's appeal for international assistance of the fourth level was voted for from all over the world. The first country to arrive was, of course, brotherly Azerbaijan. On the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev, more than 400 rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations were immediately dispatched to the earthquake zone, provided with the necessary equipment. More than 40 medical personnel from the Ministry of Emergency Situations assisted the wounded in field hospitals in the area. Military medical personnel from the Azerbaijani Army were also mobilized to the area.

In total, about 12,000 foreigners participated in search and rescue operations in Türkiye.

People all over Türkiye organized various campaigns and tried to provide humanitarian aid. In these difficult days for Türkiye, the Azerbaijani people also demonstrated strong solidarity and mobilization. Humanitarian aid centers were established in all parts of the country, emergency winter clothing, food, hygiene products, etc. were collected and sent to Türkiye in continuous trucks. Such large-scale mobilization of Azerbaijanis had previously occurred during the 44-day Patriotic War. During the first three days of the disaster, Azerbaijani citizens transferred nearly a million dollars to Türkiye for charitable purposes.

Azerbaijan is also currently continuing its humanitarian activities in the Kahramanmaraş province, closely participating in the reconstruction and restoration works carried out there, and in the construction of social facilities.

Thus, the construction of the “Azerbaijan” neighborhood built in the Kahramanmaraş province of Türkiye by the State Housing Construction Agency has been completed. The Agency has also completed the construction of the 7th, 8th, 11th and 12th quarters of the “Azerbaijan” neighborhood according to the master plan.

There are 26 residential buildings in 4 blocks. All the buildings are 4-storey. A total of 456 apartments and 328 non-residential facilities have been built in these buildings.

The construction of the cultural center located in the “Azerbaijan” neighborhood is also planned to be completed within a year.

The total area of the neighborhood is 27.6 hectares. According to the project, the neighborhood consists of residential buildings, a primary school and kindergarten, and a cultural center. A total of 68 residential buildings with 2, 3, and 4 rooms, consisting of 1,194 apartments, have been built in the residential neighborhood. At the same time, 1,595 non-residential (commercial) facilities have been put into operation in residential buildings in order to provide jobs for residents who will settle in that area.

With the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the opening ceremony of the Azerbaijan neighborhood was held on June 19, 2025, and the keys to a number of apartments were presented to their owners. The heads of state inspected the apartments and got acquainted with the conditions created in the built Heydar Aliyev primary school and kindergarten.