Turkey’s Economic Toll Could Reach $84 Billion
(Bloomberg) – A Turkish business group said economic losses from the powerful tremors that struck the region on Feb. 6 could reach $84 billion, far exceeding previous calculations by other economists. Nearly 30,000 people have been confirmed dead in the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes in southeastern Turkey and Syria, many of whom are still missing.
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United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths warned of health risks in Turkey and Syria that could result from inadequate water supplies.
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(All times Istanbul, GMT+3)
Turkey arrests 59 on looting allegations (3:27 p.m.)
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 57 people had been arrested in earthquake zones over allegations of looting.
$84 billion economic losses expected in Turkey (3:05 p.m.)
Two powerful earthquakes that killed over 24,000 people in Turkey are expected to cause economic damage of over US$84 billion – or about 10% of GDP – according to estimates by the Turkonfed group of companies.
Of the total cost, $70.1 billion is from housing losses, while $10.4 billion is from lost national income, the group said, also citing infrastructure damage to roads, electricity, natural gas, oil pipelines, communications, hospitals and schools.
Turkish Business Group sees economic damage from quake at $84 billion
Qatar’s ruling emir visits Erdogan (3:00 p.m.)
The ruling Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, met with President Erdogan in Istanbul, news channel NTV reported, without giving further details.
Spain’s rescue team returns home (11:57 am)
A 33-strong Spanish rescue team is returning home after taking part in rescue efforts in Adiyaman province, news channel NTV reported. A 160-strong team from the United States began rescue efforts in the province, according to the broadcaster.
Dozens of rescue teams from the international community have come to Turkey to help with the relief effort.
UN Secretary General raises health concerns about sanitation (11:20 a.m.)
UN Secretary General Martin Griffiths, speaking to Sky News, raised health concerns related to sanitation in the earthquake zone and warned of disease without clean water and electricity.
Meeting of Greek and Turkish foreign ministers in earthquake province (10.52 a.m.)
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Adana, one of the Turkish cities hit by last week’s deadly earthquakes. Dendias was then to travel to Hatay, a province that had also suffered badly from the disaster.
Greece joined dozens of countries rushing to aid Turkey amid the massive devastation caused by powerful tremors, even as neighbors remain at odds over long-running territorial disputes in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean.
Survivors of Miracle in Hatay, Gaziantep (8:54 am)
A team of Romanian and Turkish troops rescued a 35-year-old man from the rubble of a collapsed building 149 hours after the tremors. In Gaziantep, a child was pulled from the rubble 146 hours after the quake, according to the state-run Anadolu News Agency.
Turkey Prosecuting Builders, Others for Substandard Construction (1:10am)
Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said 113 arrest warrants had been issued for suspects in investigations into those responsible for poor construction work in the earthquake area.
On Friday, the Turkish Bar Association filed criminal charges against builders, auditors and administrators responsible for such buildings, saying their negligence amounts to manslaughter.
Death toll rises above 29,000 (1:12 a.m.)
The death toll in Turkey from the two tremors rose to over 24,600, Anadolu News Agency quoted Vice President Oktay as saying. In Syria, the death toll is 5,189, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which uses a network of activists on the ground.
According to the government, thousands of people are still missing in Turkey, around 80,000 injured and more than 6,400 buildings destroyed. The death toll has now far surpassed that of the 1999 earthquake near Istanbul, when about 18,000 people died, according to official figures.
–With the support of Asli Kandemir.
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