A Turkish family is still afraid to go home one year after deadly earthquake
A massive rebuilding effort is underway as Turkey marks the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake that killed 50,000 people in its southern provinces, plus at least 6,000 in northern Syria
ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — A year after a powerful earthquake in southern Turkey reduced hundreds of thousands of homes to rubble, Fatma Kirici lives in a tent with her husband and two grown children, afraid to return to the multistory house they fled that somehow still stands.
“Our house is at the edge of a precipice,” said Kirici, 50, whose 20-year-old daughter and son-in-law died in the quake when their house collapsed. “I don’t want to put my other kids at risk.”
As Turkey marks the first anniversary of the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck last Feb. 6, people living in the hardest-hit regions are grieving deceased family and friends, struggling to rebuild livelihoods and grasping for closure in cases where loved ones are still missing. Unemployment is rampant and roughly a quarter of families in the affected region rely on charity, according to the Red Cross.
A massive rebuilding effort is underway in areas devastated by the quake, which killed more than 50,000 in Turkey and at least 6,000 in northern Syria. The Turkish government is rushing to build more than 300,000 homes for displaced families, most of whom are living in temporary homes made from shipping containers.
