Turkey: A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official has stated that the damage caused by the February 2023 devastating earthquakes in Turkey will exceed $100 billion.

“It’s clear from the calculations being done to date that the damage figure presented by the government and supported by international partners would be in excess of $100 billion,” the UNDP official Ms. Louisa Vinton shared from Gaziantep, a Turkish city that suffered severe damage in the quakes.

According to Ms. Vinton, the provisional damage figure covers only Turkey and is being used as a basis for a donor conference on March 16, 2023, in Brussels to raise money for survivors and reconstruction.

Earlier, the World Bank estimated the direct damage in Turkey at $34.2 billion and added that the recovery costs will be much higher and that losses to Turkey’s gross domestic product associated with economic disruptions caused by the quakes will also add to the cost.

The latest estimation was calculated by the Turkish government with support from the UNDP, the World Bank, and the European Union.

“Once this estimate is completed, it will form the basis for the recovery and reconstruction donor conference next week,” the UNDP official remarked.

According to Ms. Vinton, the recovery costs, including building improved and more environmentally sustainable infrastructure, “will obviously exceed that amount.”

“The needs are vast, but the resources are scarce,” Ms. Vinton further added.

According to Turkish government figures, about two million survivors have been housed in temporary accommodation or evacuated from the earthquake-devastated region.

The government reports showed that about 1.5 million people are living in tents, while another 46,000 have been moved into container houses. Others are living in dormitories and guesthouses.

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