Over 200K buildings collapsed, severely damaged in Turkey quakes

The catastrophic earthquakes that caused widespread destruction in the south of Turkey this month have led to the collapse or severe damage of over 200,000 buildings, a senior official said Tuesday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck on Feb. 6 and flattened a swathe of the southeastern region, killing over 44,000 people and leaving millions homeless.

Described as the worst disaster in Turkey’s modern history, the quakes impacted an area that is home to some 13.5 million people, or over 15% of the country's population.

Authorities have so far completed inspections of 1.52 million buildings in the region, said Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Mustafa Kurum.

“We have determined that 582,000 independent sections and 202,000 buildings have collapsed or have been severely damaged and will be demolished immediately,” Kurum told a news conference in the quake-hit Hatay province.