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| Kastriot Robo in the left and the remains from the deadly earthquake in Turkey on February 5, 2023 |
So far, there are no Albanians who may have been affected by the powerful earthquakes in Turkey. The Albanian ambassador in Ankara, Kastriot Robo, in an interview with local Albanian media announced that he is in constant contact with the Turkish authorities in the most affected areas.
According to him, fortunately, the Albanians were not affected as their presence in the areas where the tremors were strong is limited in relation to the country's capital.
Meanwhile, the aftershock of the devastating earthquake in Turkey was also felt in Ankara and caused fear among citizens who left their homes and took to the streets.
Kastriot Robo also showed that there was no damage to people or materials.
Despite the scale of this tragedy, according to the Albanian ambassador in Ankara, after a powerful earthquake in 1999, the Turkish government has taken extreme measures to deal with such situations.
"After the 1999 earthquake, the Turkish government took extreme measures to deal with the situation. And I refer to two facts, the creation of the organization for dealing with natural disasters. An institution that is highly prepared and ready to deal with such critical situations. And measures have also been taken for the certification of buildings and construction processes. Buildings after '99 in Turkey are relatively earthquake-resistant buildings. It is different with those built before '99."
According to various sources, it is estimated that approximately two million to 5 million Albanians live in Turkey, who have gone to different periods, including the Turkish-Greek-Yugoslav agreement for the expulsion of Albanians to Turkey. In the Canakkale war or also known as the Gallipoli Campaign, for example, there were entire battalions of Albanians, even Mustafa Qemal Ataturk was of Albanian origin.
According to various sources, Albanians in Turkey are concentrated in Istanbul, in the West and Southwest of Turkey, while the earthquake happened in the other end.