Workers load cabins and caravans used during the football World Cup in Qatar onto a cargo ship slated for departure from Hamad Port, on March 20, 2023, as a donation to Turkey and Syria to house people who lost their homes in a devastating earthquake in early February. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
Ankara: Qatar has sent 4,000 cabins built to house fans at last year's World Cup to earthquake survivors in Turkiye and Syria, authorities said on Monday.
The Associated Press watched as the latest batch of pre-fabricated cabins was loaded onto a cargo ship in the Arabian Gulf. The Qatar Development Fund began shipping cabins last month and says it will send a total of 10,000 to house people displaced by the February 6 earthquake.
Qatar, one of the world's wealthiest countries, says it had always planned to donate the mobile homes. They were needed to help house some of the 1.4 million fans who descended on the country during football’s biggest tournament late last year.
The brightly colored cabins, each with thin walls, were designed to hold one or two people with twin beds, a nightstand, a small table and chair, air conditioning, a toilet and a shower inside. They went for around $200 a night - $270 with board - offering a budget option for visiting fans.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck parts of Turkiye and Syria on February 6, killing more than 52,000 people - the vast majority in Turkiye. More than 200,000 buildings in Turkiye either collapsed or were severely damaged, leaving millions homeless.
