UN Warns of Health Risks Over Water Shortage

(Bloomberg) – United Nations relief chief Martin Griffiths has warned of health risks in Turkey and Syria that could come from inadequate water supplies.

Most read by Bloomberg

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the earthquake-hit province of Adana. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is due to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday afternoon.

Important Developments

• Why Turkey’s next election will be a real test for Erdogan: QuickTake

• Turkish anger turns to Erdogan over earthquake delays and weak buildings

• Earthquake aid is a political pawn as powers quarrel over access to Syria

• Turkish opposition targets market regulators after stock market turmoil

• Turkey wants Russian green light for faster aid deliveries to Syria

• Turkey’s main opposition files complaint over Twitter blackout

(All times Istanbul, GMT+3)

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.

The story goes on

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.

Austria resumes rescue operations hours after stopping (7:57 p.m.)

Austrian troops have resumed rescue operations after receiving security guarantees, Michael Bauer, a spokesman for the Austrian army, said on Twitter. Austria had previously cited “an increasingly difficult security situation” in southern Hatay province for the suspension of the deployment of the Austrian Armed Forces’ Disaster Relief Unit. Two German rescue groups also halted rescue operations for safety guarantees.

BTC Oil Loading In Ceyhan May Begin In 2 Days, Reuters Says (7:34 p.m.)

Turkey’s Ceyhan port could start loading oil again from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in a day or two, Reuters reported, citing a Turkish official and a person involved in the shipping without identifying them.

Turkish universities to go online by summer (2:50 p.m.)

Turkish universities will move classes online by the summer to free up housing for survivors, President Erdogan said.

All dormitories on the university campus will be used to accommodate people affected by the earthquakes, Erdogan said.

–With the support of Asli Kandemir.

Most Read by Bloomberg Businessweek

©2023 Bloomberg LP