"More than 53,000 people died as a result of the earthquakes on February 6. The cost of damage from the earthquake, which affected a total of 11 provinces and 14 million people, amounted to $104 billion for our economy. Not only houses were destroyed, but also production facilities," Erdogan said on Saturday.
On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 hit the southeastern regions of Turkey at a nine-hour interval, toppling thousands of homes. The underground tremors, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, were felt in 11 Turkish provinces and in neighboring countries, including Syria. The earthquakes in Turkey caused over 50,000 fatalities.