At least 7,108 people were killed, 40,910 others were injured and more than 8,000 people were rescued from rubbles in 10 provinces of Turkey due to two strong earthquakes that jolted the southern part of the country on Monday. 5,775 buildings collapsed.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared yesterday a three-month state of emergency covering Turkey’s 10 southern provinces hit by devastating earthquakes and called it a disaster zone in a move meant to bolster rescue efforts. President Erdogan said a TRY 100bn funding has been allocated for the relevant institutions towards immediate aid and support operations at the first stage.
The 10 cities hit by earthquakes create 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.
Maritime companies have stepped in to deliver aid to earthquake-hit regions following the problems in road transport caused by earthquakes and extreme weather conditions. The Danish DFDS and Ulusoy have directed their RO-RO ships, which are used for export operations between Turkey and Italy to disaster-hit regions to ship aid materials. Many institutions from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) to municipalities and the International Transporters Association (UND) will send their aid materials by these vessels.
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.
DAILY AGENDA
No important data will be released in the country.
Meanwhile…
>> The Treasury and Finance Ministry borrowed TRY 11.57bn in two auctions held yesterday.
>> The Real Effective Exchange Rate increased from 54.76 to 56.99 in January, compared to the previous month, according to the Central Bank.
>> Turkish Airlines (THY) and Pegasus announced one-way free flights from 10 disaster-hit cities for earthquake victims until February 13.
>> The major fire at the international Iskenderun Port in Hatay has been extinguished.
>> The cash and non-cash contribution of Isbank to the economy totaled TRY 1tr in 2022. The bank’s net profit amounted to TRY 61.5bn last year.
>> The interest rate increased by 36 basis points to 18.33% for TRY deposits, four basis points to 2.42% for USD deposits, and six basis points to 0.76% for EUR deposits in the week ending on January 27, compared to the previous week, according to the Central Bank.
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