Erdogan pledges financial aid to earthquake victims

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday announced that the government will pay the rent for people who were affected by Monday’s disastrous earthquake for a year, adding that each household will receive a cash aid of $500. 

A catastrophic 7.5 magnitude earthquake followed a 7.8 quake in southern Turkey on Monday. Erdogan visited the earthquake-hit province of Adiyaman (Semsur) on Friday, repeating the pledges he has made in other affected provinces.

 "If our citizens do not wish to stay in tents until their new homes are constructed, we will pay their rent for one year, whether here in Adiyaman or in other cities where they will choose to live," he was cited by Daily Sabah as saying.  

He also said that each affected household will be paid nearly $530 and the Turkish Airlines will provide free flights for the victims who want to leave their provinces. 

The earthquake has killed 19,388 people and injured 77,711 others so far, according to Erdogan. 

Tens of countries including Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, as well as over a dozen international humanitarian and aid organizations, are involved in processes to assist the affected people and a major campaign to uncover survivors trapped underneath collapsed buildings across ten provinces.