Don't lose hope, Türkiye will overcome this disaster: President Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Gaziantep as part of an investigation into earthquake zones to oversee the search and rescue operations and aid distribution.

President Erdogan's Thursday programme also includes visits to Osmaniye and Kilis, other earthquake-affected cities, which had a total impact on over 13 million people living in Türkiye and Syria.

The disaster killed 14,014 people and wounded 63,794 people, Erdogan said, noting 6,444 buildings were destroyed by the earthquake. 

"Do not worry, just as we have overcome the previous earthquakes, don't lose your hope, we will hand over apartments in these 10 provinces to their owners," Erdogan said. 

The Turkish president on Tuesday declared a three-month-long state of emergency in the 10 provinces hit by the quake and to be voted in the Turkish parliament on Thursday. 

"State of emergency in 10 quake-hit provinces to give an opportunity to foil moneylenders, seditious groups who abuse the process in Türkiye," President Erdogan said.

The Turkish president has tasked all of the ministers in his cabinet and Vice President Fuat Oktay to handle the situation and to establish coordination in the area.

In the first leg of his visit, Erdogan visited a football stadium in Onikisubat district of Kahramanmaras on Wednesday, where a tent city was set up for the victims before heading to the Pazarcik district, the epicentre of one of the two major earthquakes that struck on Monday.

READ MORE: Erdogan: We will never allow our citizens to remain unsheltered

Housing, financial aid

Turkish President Erdogan noted that Türkiye to distribute all relief containers to the ten provinces' earthquake-hit areas.

He noted that Türkiye will rebuild 10 disaster-hit provinces in a year.

The Turkish president said on Wednesday that the government has made negotiations with the hotels in Antalya, Alanya, and Mersin to house the victims.

"We are ready to place them in hotels in these cities," he said, adding that the government will also provide an initial 10,000 Turkish liras ($531) to families affected by the quake.

READ MORE: Timeline: Major earthquakes that hit Türkiye in recent decades