The EU has offered to help cover a small part of the reconstruction efforts after the earthquakes that left more than 50,000 dead
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has estimated that the devastating earthquakes that hit the region in February caused around $104 billion in damage in Turkey alone, appealing for foreign aid while saying no country is able to facing a disaster like this alone.
At an international meeting of aid donors for both Turkey and Syria, which was also hit by the tremors, Erdogan gave an insight into the massive damage caused by the February 6 earthquakes, saying his country would have with the goal of rebuilding some 319,000 homes a little more than next year.
“More than 51,000 people were victims of the earthquakes, more than 105,000 were injured. According to preliminary data, their damage exceeded $104 billion,” the president told the Brussels-based conference on Monday. “It is not possible for a single nation to address a crisis of this scale on its own alone We will never forget the solidarity that all our friends … have shown in these difficult days.”
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At the same event, European Union Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the body would provide 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) to help Turkey’s reconstruction efforts and 108 million d euros ($115 million) for humanitarian aid in Syria, where there were about 6,000. dead in the earthquakes.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) provided a similar damage estimate for Turkey, saying the country would need to raise at least $103.6 billion to rebuild destroyed homes and infrastructure, or 9 percent of its forecast. of GDP by 2023. Other UN agencies have appealed for aid money after the disaster, hoping to raise $397 million for Syria and another $1 billion for Turkey, although the latter project only it had reached about 10 percent of its goal by March 6, according to the UN. Resident coordinator Álvaro Rodríguez. The Syrian fund has raised about half of its goal.
Moscow has also assisted in rescue and reconstruction projects, sending rescuers to the region immediately after the earthquakes, along with heavy equipment to help clear debris and search for victims. However, both Russian and Syrian officials were excluded from Monday’s donor conference, amid rising tensions between Moscow and Western nations over the conflict in Ukraine, as well as pending disputes with Damascus related to its civil war with the rebel insurgents. The EU maintains broad sanctions on both countries and said it would only provide funds for early recovery efforts in Syria, but not for long-term reconstruction, as long as there is no dialogue with the Syrian government.
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