The country crashed down with devastating earthquakes
THE COUNTRY woke to a Monday with the news that a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit 10 cities in southeast Turkey at 4.17 am. As of Friday afternoon, 19,388 people were killed and 77,711 others were injured in total due to the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes that occurred in the space of fewer than 10 hours. A total of 76,000 people demanded evacuation to other provinces, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday.
There were problems with the government’s initial response to a devastating earthquake, amid anger from those left destitute and frustrated over the slow arrival of rescue teams. Across southern Turkey, people sought temporary shelter and food in freezing winter weather and waited in anguish by piles of rubble where family and friends might still lie buried. Rescuers were still finding some people alive. But many people have complained of a lack of equipment, expertise, and support to rescue those trapped - sometimes even as they could hear cries for help.
Some Organized Industrial Zones (OIZs) has halted operations while others operate with a 25% capacity in the cities hit by earthquakes. The business world in the 10 cities hit by earthquakes told daily EKONOMI the vital needs for earthquake victims: gas bottle heaters and heating stoves, gasoline and diesel fuel, food, including baby food and bread and hot meals, crane operators, shelter tents, blankets, diapers, and hygiene products. They also said there is a priority problem in meeting the emergency need although aid is being sent to the cities.
Istanbul’s stock exchange operator suspended trading on Wednesday until February 15 and canceled all trades of the day. Erdogan, who visited Kahramanmaras on the same day, announced that TRY 10,000 in monetary aid will be provided for earthquake victim families at the first stage.
The business world has been mobilized for the 10 cities hit by quakes. Apart from the leading business organizations such as DEIK, TOBB, ITO, ISO, ASO, ATO, TUSIAD, MUSIAD, and TURKONFED, chambers, commodity exchanges, and NGOs in many cities have started the aid work. Moreover, hundreds of holding companies and firms have directed aid trucks to AFAD coordination centers and earthquake regions.
Moreover, many countries, such as the U.S., Russia, Moldova, Hungary, Spain, Qatar, Denmark, Palestine, India, France, Israel, Japan, Poland, and the UN have already sent their search and rescue teams or provided humanitarian aid.
It may be still early to speak about, but the country will face the economic costs of the earthquake, which can be named the disaster of the century. The 10 cities hit by earthquakes constitute one-tenth of the Turkish economy. Sectors in these regions mainly consist of textile, ready-to-wear, iron, cement, energy, food, and agriculture industries. While the total population in these provinces reaches 13.5 million, this figure corresponds to 16% of Turkey’s total population. Moreover, the contribution of these 10 cities to the country’s GDP is estimated at TRY 1.5tr for 2022. They also take a share of around 10% of Turkey’s national income. Turkey’s economic loss caused by earthquakes may reach TRY 500bn, according to the estimation of daily EKONOMI.