UNDP: “At least 500,000 new homes are needed”

Louisa Vinton, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Representative of Turkey, said: “This is clearly the biggest seismic disaster in Turkey’s history and perhaps the biggest natural disaster the country has ever faced.” Emphasizing that the next rebuilding challenge will be on a large scale, Vinton said between 116 and 210 million tons of debris must be cleared.

“To give you a frame of reference, the great earthquake that hit Turkey in 1999 caused a lot of loss of life and produced 13 million tons of debris, although less than half of what we see now,” Vinton said. Vinton also noted that there is a daunting rebuilding challenge in the area, with people urgently in need of shelter and an estimated 116-210 million tons of rubble needing to be removed from the area.

In the past, in post-earthquake and explosion disasters in Nepal, Haiti, Lebanon and Ukraine, UNDP has partnered with projects to ensure debris is handled in an environmentally safe manner. “Most of the rubble can be recycled for construction and can also be used as a way to generate short-term income,” Vinton said.