Displaced Children are seen in the quake-hit city of Adiyaman, Türkiye, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
An inspection of the quake-damaged buildings found that at least 412,000 housing units in 118,000 buildings have collapsed or need to be demolished completely.
GENEVA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations Development Program (UNDP) official on Tuesday estimated that 1.5 million people in Türkiye have been left homeless by the recent earthquakes and some 500,000 housing units in the country will have to be rebuilt.
Louisa Vinton, the UNDP's Türkiye resident representative, told an online press briefing that the country's government had inspected around 70 percent of the buildings affected by the quakes. Of these, 412,000 housing units in 118,000 buildings have collapsed or need to be demolished completely.
People are seen near the rubble of a destroyed building in the quake-hit city of Adiyaman, Türkiye, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
She said that the amount of rubble that needed to be cleared was enormous, and that the UNDP was seeking to minimize the threat of hazardous waste.
According to Vinton, two weeks after the first quakes, there is reason to call this the largest natural disaster in Türkiye's history.
She said that the government concluded the search and rescue phase for the first quakes on Sunday, and the last survivor was pulled from the rubble almost 300 hours after the quake.
A displaced woman makes bread in the quake-hit city of Adiyaman, Türkiye, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
Catherine Smallwood, senior emergency officer for the World Health Organization (WHO), told Tuesday's press briefing that managing the risks of communicable diseases is now vital as several displaced people live in close quarters, sometimes with poor access to toilets and clean water.
"There is a heightened risk of respiratory illnesses, cholera, hepatitis A and measles," she said.
In recent weeks, Türkiye's southern Kahramanmaras province has been rattled by a series of earthquakes ranging from magnitude 6.4 to 7.7.
The quakes also hit parts of Syria. In total, an estimated 47,000 people have lost their lives in the two countries, according to media reports.
This photo taken on Feb. 19, 2023 shows a temporary shelter in the quake-hit city of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)■
China's railway passenger trips surge 22.9 pct in Jan
Man arrested in 1989 killing of 78
Man convicted of murder in Detroit teen's death despite body still missing in landfill
Climber found dead on Denali, North America's tallest peak
The late Rev. Billy Graham is immortalized in a statue unveiled at the US Capitol
Angie Harmon sue Instacart, former shopper who shot and killed her dog
Irish interest in NFL heats up as league scouts more international cities to stage games
Socialite Jasmine Hartin enjoys beach snuggle with electrician hunk
US Coast Guard says Texas barge collision may have spilled up to 2,000 gallons of oil
Independent UN experts urge Yemen’s Houthis to free detained Baha'i followers
David Beckham details what inspired him to film his tell