A total of 407 houses, 17 businesses and 96 barns have been destroyed or severely damaged by hundreds of wildfires in 13 provinces in Turkey since 1 June, according to data released yesterday by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, as teams from the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) continue to carry out inspections to determine the extent of the damage caused by the forest fires.
According to Yerlikaya, quoted by the Anatolia news agency, a total of 128.4 billion liras (2.8 million euros) has been allocated to the areas affected by the fires and compensation payments have already been made to 490 households in the seven worst-affected provinces, totalling 83.2 million liras (1.8 million euros).
The minister stressed that the province most affected by the fire has been Izmir, on Turkey’s west coast, where 295 houses were damaged by the fires and almost 900,000 euros in aid has been allocated. In Bilecik, another of the worst affected provinces, 69 houses were damaged and almost 800,000 euros in compensation has already been paid out. Other areas that have received assistance include the district of Akhisar (in Manisa province) with 5 damaged houses, Antakya (Antioch, in Hatay) for damage to 71 homes, Çanakkale for damage to two houses, Sakarya for 4 damaged houses, and Karabük for 36 homes affected by fire.
To meet the needs of many of the affected families who have lost their homes, 105 container houses have so far been sent to the provinces most affected by the wildfires, especially Izmir and Bilecik, where 26 and 27 of these prefabricated houses have already been installed.
The minister also called on the population to exercise extreme caution due to the high fire risk, which will last at least until October due to drought and high temperatures: “Especially during the summer heat, it is of critical importance that our citizens take extra precautions to protect our forests,” he stressed. According to Turkish authorities, an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 hectares of forest have already burned this year.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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