15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia plans to establish 3,000 temporary houses for the victims of two deadly earthquakes that jolted Turkiye and Syria last week, Anadolu News Agency reports.
At least 35,418 people were killed and 105,505 others injured in two powerful earthquakes that rocked southern Turkiye on 6 February, according to the latest official figures.
The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes, centred in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.
In Syria, at least 3,688 people were killed and over 14,749 injured in the earthquake disaster.
Saudi Arabia "is studying the construction of 3,000 temporary houses in quake-hit areas in Turkiye and Syria," Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, head of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, told Al Ekhbariya television.
He said the centre has already distributed thousands of tents to shelter the quake victims in the two countries.
READ: Miracles continue as survivors rescued 9 days after quakes in southern Turkiye
"We will continue to help those affected by the earthquake disaster in Syria and Turkiye for weeks and perhaps months due to the great scale of the tragedy," Al-Rabeeah said.
Following the earthquake disaster, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre launched a donation drive on 8 February for the quake victims in the two countries.
More than 362 million riyals (nearly $96 million) have been collected, so far, as part of the drive, according to the Saudi government's Sahem Platform, which is responsible for the donation campaign.
The oil-rich Kingdom has also dispatched seven planes loaded with relief material to Turkiye, along with 95 rescue workers, 55 medical personnel and two delegations representing the Saudi Red Crescent and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.
