Monitoring Desk
ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three months state of emergency in ten provinces hit by an earthquake that has claimed thousands of lives, local media reported on Tuesday.
$5.3 billion allocated for quake-hit areas: Turkish President
Turkish President said in televised remarks that it has been decided to declare a state of emergency to ensure that rescue and recovery efforts can be carried out quickly.
He added that the government would send over fifty thousand rescue workers to the affected area and allocate $5.3 billion in financial assistance. Erdogan maintained that a series of emergency steps would be taken to quake-hit areas with humanitarian relief workers and financial assistance.
Read Also: At Least 20 Daesh Militants Escape Syria Prison after Earthquake
The current toll showed Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake and its aftershocks killed more than 3,549 people in Turkey. Turkish President’s handling of the major natural crisis in his 20-year rule could prove vital ahead of tightly-contested presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.
