Consequences of the earthquake in Turkey
The earthquakes severely affected 10 provinces and 13.5 million people in the southeast of the country, as well as in neighboring Syria.
According to preliminary estimates, powerful earthquakes in Turkey will lead to losses in the economy in the amount of $ 84 billion, or about 10% of GDP, Bloomberg reports.
The February 6 magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes caused about $70.8 billion worth of damage to homes and another $10.4 billion in lost national income, according to the Confederation of Turkish Enterprises and Businesses.
Turkonfed, a group, said the loss of labor would cost the Turkish economy $2.9 billion. The quakes severely affected 10 provinces and 13.5 million people in the southeast of the country, as well as in neighboring Syria.
Turkonfed’s calculations were based on the 1999 earthquakes near Istanbul, which claimed the lives of about 18,000 people. The death toll from the latest devastation far exceeded that of the 1999 earthquake, and thousands of people are still missing.
Damage to Turkey’s infrastructure, including roads and power grids, as well as hospitals and schools, could push the country’s budget deficit to over 5.4% of GDP this year, compared to the official forecast of 3.5%.
Bloomberg Economics’ initial calculations suggested that disaster-related costs, including recovery efforts, could be around 5.5% of GDP.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would complete housing construction within a year, with about 100 billion lira ($5.3 billion) already earmarked for disaster relief.
Recall that in Turkey, about 130 people were detained or issued arrest warrants, probably involved in the construction of buildings that collapsed as a result of earthquakes and killed their inhabitants.
