International media to visit Türkiye’s quake zone for Feb 6 anniversary

ANKARA

Turkish authorities are organizing an international media program to mark the third anniversary of the devastating earthquakes that struck the nation’s southern provinces on Feb. 6, 2023, enabling foreign journalists to observe recovery and reconstruction efforts firsthand in the disaster-hit region.

According to an official statement by Türkiye’s Communications Directorate, the program will run from Feb. 4 to 6 and will host 32 journalists from 11 countries, including the United States, Germany, China, South Korea, Italy, Greece, Egypt and Azerbaijan.

The participants were selected from among reporters who had previously covered the earthquakes in 2023, allowing them to compare conditions then and now.

Reporters will visit Hatay, Kahramanmaraş and Osmaniye, three provinces among the worst affected by the disaster.

Officials will present completed housing projects, newly developed reserve construction areas and urban redevelopment efforts carried out over the past three years.

Spanning 11 provinces, the earthquakes struck Türkiye’s south in the early hours of Feb. 6, 2023, beginning with a 7.7 magnitude tremor, followed by a second 7.6 magnitude earthquake later the same day.

The twin tremors affected more than 13.5 million people and claimed 53,725 lives, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country’s modern history.

Beyond the immense human toll, the earthquakes caused widespread destruction of infrastructure and cultural heritage.

Debris removal alone took months, while centuries-old landmarks were severely damaged or reduced to rubble.

As part of the program, international journalists will visit restored cultural and historical sites, including Saint Pierre Church in Hatay and the Archaeology Museum in Kahramanmaraş.

Officials say the visits aim to demonstrate how cultural heritage sites have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into daily urban life.

Environment Minister Murat Kurum is scheduled to meet with the media delegation during the program.

In Osmaniye, international media representatives will cover events and speeches by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held in observance of the earthquake anniversary.

Officials noted that since 2024, a total of 334 journalists from 26 countries have taken part in similar media programs to observe reconstruction and recovery efforts in the earthquake zone.