Earthquake damaged province suffers water shortage

Thousands of people in the earthquake-hit province of Hatay are suffering water shortages after authorities warned against using municipal water in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, which suffered massive damage following the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

The municipality announced on Twitter it required help from the government to find a solution:

"In our province, the Ministry of Health and HATSU have recommended not to drink the tap water until the results of the analysis. Unfortunately, the problem of drinking water emergency continues to increase. The stakeholders have been contacted and we continue to try to solve the problem”

The hashtag "#hataydasuyok" (no water in Hatay) became a trending topic on Twitter. The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) said that especially the city center and the districts of Defne and Samandag suffer the most from the water shortage.

However, the Hatay governor's office stated that "the disruptions in the water network caused by the earthquakes have been resolved, and threatened those who complain about the shortages.

"There is no problem in using tap water for hygiene purposes. The region is constantly supplied with drinking water by AFAD and we have sufficient water supplies. Necessary criminal action will be taken against those who engage in black propaganda on social media on this issue," a statement from the governor's office said.