Turkey to start building 30,000 houses in earthquake zone in March - Erdogan

Earlier, the Turkish leader said the death toll from earthquakes in the southeast of the country topped 35,400 people. The disaster thus became the most destructive in Turkey's history.

"We will immediately begin construction work wherever the damage assessment is completed. From the beginning of March, we will immediately begin the construction of 30,000 residential buildings. Within a few months, the construction of all houses that we build away from the fault lines will start," Erdogan said.

"Our goal is within a year to complete the construction of a number of high-quality and safe buildings that will solve the problem of housing in the entire earthquake zone," he said at the Turkish disaster and emergency management authority (AFAD) in Ankara.

Erdogan said 98 per cent of buildings that had collapsed as a result of the recent earthquakes had been built before 1999.

Parts of Turkey and Syria were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks on February 6. The death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Turkey exceeded 35,000.