UN will continue to help quake-hit Türkiye: Official

The UN will continue to help Türkiye as long as the country needs, following the Feb. 6 twin earthquakes that claimed the lives of more than 43,500 people, a UN official said on Thursday.

"Türkiye is very important as a founding member of the United Nations. We have been here always and, we will continue to be here as long as Türkiye needs us," UN Resident Coordinator in Türkiye Alvaro Rodriguez told Anadolu.

Rodriguez visited the tent city established in the center of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the earthquakes, and talked to victims and medical staff on the ground.

He noted that the scale of earthquakes is "unprecedented" in terms of geographical area.

"I have never seen anything that covers 11 provinces and 15 million people. I think it's something that surprises me that I thought there would have been more deaths on more injured people. So, it suggests that the response was effective, the rescue teams and the medical emergency teams have worked well."

"Turkish citizens and its government, at all levels, have been able to respond to this terrible emergency," he added.

He said that the UN launched a $1 billion humanitarian appeal, which covers a three-month-period, for victims of the earthquakes.

"We will be having a workshop or conference in Brussels on March 16 to discuss the longer-term reconstruction of these 11 provinces," Rodriguez said.

At least 43,556 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa.