Turkey earthquake: World Bank estimates damages at $34bn as prez Erdogan apologies for rescue delays
Hatay province, Turkey
The World Bank said on Monday (February 27) estimated that the massive earthquakes that hit Turkey and parts of Syria earlier this month have caused damages worth more than $34 billion in the country.
The earthquake and subsequent tremors killed more than 47,000 people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, leaving over a million homeless in freezing temperatures across the region.
The World Bank said in a statement that the amount is equivalent to four per cent of Turkey's GDP in 2021, adding that the estimate does not account for the costs of reconstruction that were "potentially twice as large".
Humberto Lopez, the World Bank Country Director for Turkey, said: "This disaster serves as a reminder of Turkey’s high risk to earthquakes and of the need to enhance resilience in public and private infrastructure."
According to the World Bank, around 1.25 million people have been made temporarily homeless due to damage to residential buildings.
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Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked the common people for forgiveness over rescue delays as he visited one of the hardest-hit areas by the earthquakes.
Erdogan said: "Due to the devastating effect of the tremors and the bad weather, we were not able to work the way we wanted in Adiyaman for the first few days. I apologise for this."
The Turkish president faced criticism for delays in rescues and also the poor infrastructure that compounded the issues during post-disaster rescue efforts, with critics saying that the earthquakes have emerged as hurdles for Erdogan who is facing another term as president after two decades in power.
Erdogan had admitted "shortcomings" in the government's handling of the disaster shortly after the quakes.
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Latest earthquake shakes Turkey
At least one died and over 100 were injured after another earthquake of magnitude 5.6 hit Turkey on Monday, causing the collapse of some of the already damaged buildings, said Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
The officials said that the epicentre of the tremor was the Yesilyurt district in the Malatya province.
(With inputs from agencies)
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