Minister Yerlikaya: “A total of 187 people were affected by the earthquake, 43 of our citizens are under observation.”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya attended a meeting at the AFAD Coordination Center in Malatya, where the earthquake occurred. Yerlikaya stated that 187 citizens were affected by the earthquake, and 43 citizens are being kept under observation.

An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale occurred in the Kale district of Malatya at 10:46 AM. Following the earthquake, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya traveled to Malatya and attended the AFAD Coordination meeting. After the meeting, Minister Yerlikaya evaluated the situation regarding the earthquake, saying, “There were partial collapses in a total of 3 buildings, one each in Malatya, Şanlıurfa, and Elazığ. Thank God, we have no loss of life.”

“We have conducted field surveys”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that they have been working continuously since the moment the earthquake occurred and have conducted surveys in residential areas. He said, “Our provinces Kahramanmaraş and Tunceli were also affected by the earthquake. As soon as we received the news of the earthquake, which I mentioned earlier, we informed the President 18 minutes after it was reported to our AFAD Presidency. We immediately contacted our governors. Right after the earthquake, our Governor of Malatya and all governors, AFAD, gendarmerie, police, metropolitan and provincial municipalities, and district municipalities, along with public institutions and organizations, conducted a coordination process to carry out field surveys in the relevant residential areas and neighborhoods, village by village.”

“As of 15:00, we received 1,112 reports at the 112 call center”

Minister Yerlikaya stated, “Initially, we start with the priority of the reports that come in during the hours of the earthquake, and then we proceed with the other surveys. Our teams from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change immediately went into action upon the instruction of our minister. Two general directors and three department heads were assigned to Elazığ province from Malatya province. We have 10 damage assessment teams in Malatya and 10 damage assessment teams in Elazığ. Damage assessment commissions from other provinces have also started assessments in both Malatya and Elazığ as of now. 55 vehicles and 210 personnel from AFAD are continuing their work along with 3 IH and one humanitarian reconnaissance aircraft from our gendarmerie and police forces. Our teams are monitoring the developments in real-time. So far, as of 15:00, we have received 1,112 reports at the 112 call center. Of these reports, 963 are for information, and 149 are for assistance. As you know, I announced around 11:00 AM before coming from Ankara that there were partial collapses in a total of 3 buildings, one each in Malatya, Şanlıurfa, and Elazığ.”

“Thank God, we have no loss of life”

Sharing information obtained from the Ministry of Health, Yerlikaya stated that a total of 187 citizens have been injured, including 33 in Malatya, 32 in Elazığ, 18 in Adıyaman, and 17 in Diyarbakır, the other cities affected by the earthquake. He added, “43 of our citizens are currently being kept under observation. The others have been discharged with outpatient treatment, as reported by our friends here. Our governors have also announced this due to the earthquake that occurred. Education was suspended for one day in Malatya, Şanlıurfa, Elazığ, Adıyaman, and Batman provinces. We must also state that there was a rockfall in the Pütürge and Kale districts of Malatya. Currently, there are no roads closed due to rockfalls. There are no power outages in the provinces affected by the earthquake. There is no infrastructure damage. There are no reports of water outages. Our friends have reported that there has been no negativity regarding the buildings of our hospitals based on the observational assessments they have made so far. We extend our best wishes to all citizens affected by the earthquakes. We always express this. May God protect our cities and our country from all disasters, known and unknown.”