The death toll of the February 6 earthquakes in southeast Turkey has exceeded 47,000, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday.

"The disaster of the century affected the lives of about 14 million citizens of ten provinces in one way or another. As a result of the earthquakes, more than 47,000 citizens were killed, and more than 115,000 citizens were injured and saved," Erdogan said after signing the decree on holding general elections in Turkey on May 14.

According to him, the number of collapsed buildings and those at risk of collapsing exceeds 270 thousand in Turkey. The authorities plan to build about 244,000 new apartment buildings and 75,000 rural houses during the year for those affected.

Two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6, respectively, occurred nine hours apart on February 6 in Kahramanmaras Province in southeastern Turkey. These quakes affected 11 provinces of the country and its neighboring countries, including Syria.