Turkey Earthquake; The Possibility Of 1 Billion Dollars In Financial Damage
The full extent of Monday's massive earthquakes that affected the south of Turkey and its neighboring provinces in Syria will not be known soon. Seismologists say that yesterday's incident was one of the worst earthquakes that have shaken Turkey in modern times. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), thousands of buildings have been destroyed in Turkey and Syria following two powerful earthquakes that could cause more than $1 billion in damage. According to the New York Times, the death toll at press time has reached more than 3,400. It is expected to rise significantly as hundreds, if not thousands, are trapped under the rubble. As the night falls and the temperature drops in harsh winter conditions, the probability of their survival in flat buildings will decrease.
Turkey is facing its worst economic crisis since Erdogan. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, with more than 80 percent annual inflation and a 30 percent depreciation of the lira against the dollar last year. The country's current account deficit has reached almost 5% of GDP. The recession is hurting Erdogan's popularity, and polls continue to show that the ruling party's opposition may just be able to unseat him.
A critical test will be how the administration handles arguably one of the biggest crises it has faced in its presidency. A ruling coalition government's pathetic response to a significant earthquake in northwestern Turkey in 1999 was widely seen as a determining factor in the rise of the Justice and Development Party.
In contrast, the current government immediately mobilized rescue teams, including 3,500 military personnel, after the first 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck at 4:17 a.m. local time. Pragmatic as ever to welcome aid from Western countries, including Israel and Greece as Turkey's arch-rivals, Erdoğan quickly abandoned his prickly nationalism and declared seven days of national mourning.
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