ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey has imposed regulations for earthquake rebuilding work in its region hit by this month’s devastating tremors, according to a presidential decree published in the country’s Official Gazette on Friday.
More than 160,000 buildings, containing 520,000 apartments, collapsed or were severely damaged as a result of earthquakes that killed more than 43,000 people in Turkey and left millions homeless in cold winter weather.
President Tayyip Erdogan pledged to rebuild housing within one year. Survivors have either left the area or been settled in tents, container homes and government-sponsored accommodation.
According to the decree, individuals, institutions and organisations will be able to build residences and workplaces to be donated to the urbanisation ministry and later to be distributed to people impacted by the earthquake.
Arid land and non-forest land can also be used for construction, the regulation said, adding that usual processes including building notifications and objections will not be required during planning and land subdivision processes.
Temporary or permanent resettlement areas will be determined by the urbanisation ministry according to the area’s distance to the quake fault line, the suitability of the ground, and its proximity to the settlement centre, the regulation also said.
Environmental precautions will be taken during the disposal of demolition waste which can also be recycled to be used in infrastructure investments, it said.
(Reporting by Mehmet Dinar; Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Daren Butler and Kim Coghill)
