Posted on 2/18/2023 8:36 PM Updated on 2/18/2023 8:48 PM
Video length: 4 mins
France 2 articles written by
D.Schlienger, F.Simoes, K.Yalciner, O.Sauvayre, drone images: Medet Elmali – France 2
France TV
Thirteen days after the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, serious material damage is reported and a town of 40,000 people is to be completely destroyed, with the aim of rebuilding it in one year.
The earthquake has torn down Nurdagi (Turkey), a city of 40,000 people that will be completely leveled and erased from the map. In the middle of this open-air cemetery is an epitaph written in red: “Farewell Nurdağı, February 6, 2023”. The residents mourn their city and what they lived there and try to salvage the furniture that has been preserved. It’s been the save-the-box for two days. Anything that has resisted will be emptied despite the threat of collapse. The authorities want to make Nurdağı a symbol. “Destroyed in one breath, rebuilt in one year in the same place,” is the promise.
Containers and prefabricated houses installed
Some residents, who don’t believe in this rapid reconstruction, have decided to pack up and leave. A few kilometers from the city, a farmer has decided to stay for his animals and his fields despite the trauma. For thousands of refugees there is only one hope: that their city will one day recover.
“Hundreds of shipping containers and prefabricated houses will be installed on the outskirts of Nurdağı so that residents can live in more decent conditions and slowly begin reconstruction that reflects the image of their city,” observes Diane Schlienger, special correspondent in Turkey.
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