6 more quake-hit Turkish provinces added to disaster zone

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye added six more provinces that suffered damage in the Feb. 6 earthquakes to the quake disaster zone, the nation’s disaster agency said on Monday.

In a statement, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said settlements where damaged buildings were found in the provinces of Bingol, Kayseri, Mardin, Tunceli, Nigde, and Batman were also added to the zone, qualifying them to receive certain types of governmental aid.

Damage assessment in these provinces found that there were buildings that were slightly, moderately, or heavily damaged, it said.

Following the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes in southern Türkiye, 11 provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa – along with the Gurun district in the Sivas province, were accepted as disaster zones due to the destruction and loss of life, it added.

More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes, as well as many others in northern Syria.