ANTAKYA/ANKARA, Turkey—Turkey has begun initial work to rebuild homes following this month’s devastating earthquakes, a government official said on Friday, as a U.N. Development Program (UNDP) estimated 1.5 million people have been left homeless.
More than 160,000 buildings containing 520,000 apartments collapsed or were severely damaged in the Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed more than 43,500 people in Turkey and nearly 6,000 in neighboring Syria.
Facing an election within months, President Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to rebuild homes within a year, although experts have said the authorities should put safety before speed. Some buildings that were meant to withstand tremors crumbled in the latest earthquakes….