Earthquake could cost Turkey up to $84 billion – business group

A person looks at rubble and debris following an earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem ANKARA, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Turkey’s worst earthquake in almost a century has left a trail of destruction that could cost Ankara up to $84.1 billion, a business group said, while a government official put the figure at more than $50 billion. The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria from last Monday’s 7.8 magnitude quake approached 36,000 and looked set to rise, as the focus of the response switched from rescuing survivors trapped under the rubble to providing shelter, food and psychosocial care. A report published at the weekend by the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation put the cost of the damage at $84.1 billion – $70.8 billion from the repair of thousands of homes, $10.4 billion from loss of national income and $2.9 billion from loss of working days. It said the main costs would be rebuilding housing, transmission lines and infrastructure, and meeting the short, medium and long-term shelter needs of the hundreds of thousands left homeless. Latest Updates President Tayyip Erdogan has said the state will complete housing reconstruction within a year and the government was preparing […]

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