Qatar dispatches 4,000 World Cup huts to quake-hit Türkiye, Syria

Qatar announced on Monday that the country had donated 4,000 cabins, originally built to accommodate football fans during last year's World Cup, to earthquake survivors in Türkiye and Syria.

The latest batch of pre-fabricated cabins was loaded onto a cargo ship in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday.

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 Feb. 6 earthquake.

Gas-rich Qatar, one of the world's wealthiest countries, says it had always planned to donate mobile homes. They were needed to help house some of the 1.4 million fans who descended on the small 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 the board – offering a budget option for visiting fans.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck parts of Türkiye and Syria on Feb. 6, killing over 52,000 people – the vast majority in Türkiye. Over 200,000 buildings in Türkiye either collapsed or were severely damaged, leaving millions homeless.

Qatar and other wealthy Gulf countries have joined the global effort to send aid to the stricken region.