Did Turkish government social housing units survive the earthquake?
One of the largest construction companies in Turkey is run by the government.
The Turkish Housing Development Administration also known as TOKI has in the last two decades built hundreds of thousands of homes for low income people across Turkey.
Now, the head of TOKI, Omer Bulut, claims that all the 133,759 buildings in the earthquake-hit zones built by the ministry were not damaged. The government is pitching the result as a good news story. MEE hasn't been able to verify the claims.
In an interview with a Turkish opposition newspaper Sozcu, Bulut claimed that the secret to TOKI housing durability was "choosing the right place" to build, utilising correct building techniques, earthquake proofing, not exceeding five floors and strictly complying with earthquake regulations.
Social media users, however, were left wondering why the government also didn't apply the same standards to the private sector?
In Hatay, one of the worst affected areas of the earthquake the Hatay State Hospital, a multi-storey complex built by TOKI and opened in 2016, has been deemed unsafe to work in and largely abandoned. The building is still standing.