Türkiye continues to heal from wounds inflicted by twin quakes

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - A month after the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes in Türkiye, the government is making great efforts in every field for a rapid recovery, as the wounds of the disaster victims are being healed day by day with the help of officials, non-governmental organizations, and humanitarian aid materials coming from abroad.

After the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes centered in southern Kahramanmaras province affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, many people were directed to safer locations across the country.

The death toll from the devastating earthquakes has risen to 45,968, including 4,267 Syrians, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Saturday.

While official and volunteer search and rescue teams and other supportive personnel reached the quake-hit regions hours after the disaster, the first temporary shelters were built within days.

The damage calculation only included residential and non-residential buildings and infrastructure, not broader economic impacts and losses for the Turkish economy.

The quake-hit provinces accounted for around 9% of the country's total exports in 2022 valued at $20.5 billion with Gaziantep making up the lion’s share among them at $10.52 billion.

These provinces' share in the country's GDP is around 9.5%.

Atilla Benli, the head of the Insurance Association of Türkiye, said that beside the mandatory earthquake insurance payments, the insurance sector will pay over 20 billion Turkish liras (some $1.1 billion) at the initial phase to the victims.

In addition to the damage to homes, a significant amount of vehicles were totaled, he added.

- Temporary shelters

As of March 5, more than 400,000 tents were built in all quake-hit provinces, while 370,482 of them were prepared by officials, the country's interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, announced.

Around 1.5 million quake victims are currently living in tents, Soylu added.

Officials and NGOs have also been preparing temporary shelters, containers, and brick houses.

Meanwhile, Türkiye's Housing Development Administration began to build permanent houses for victims and it plans to begin to deliver houses within a year.

More than 617,500 people have been evacuated as of March 2 by air from the quake-hit provinces while 292 flights have transported humanitarian aid to the region.

Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, SunExpress, Freebird Airlines, Cortex Aviation, Corendon Airlines, Tailwind Airlines, Air Anka, Mavi Gok Airlines, MNG Airlines, ULS Airlines, and ACT Airlines have joined the operations.

Victims can also choose to live in dorms or hotels for free instead of tents, while the government also provides support to the victims who choose to rent a house.

- Support programs

Following the disasters, banks and the country's banking watchdog took many steps to ease the conditions of victims, such as decreasing minimum payment amount of credit cards and postponing loan payments.

The government also eased official works for companies and individuals, reduced or removed some tax payments.

Companies in the quake-hit regions can benefit from short-time working allowances.

The government also pays 10,000 Turkish liras ($530) to quake victims whose houses were damaged, and 100,000 liras ($5,300) to those whose relatives died.

The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye revealed a plan recently to revive the quake-hit 11 provinces' economies.

Accordingly, firms were encouraged to meet their raw material needs and semi-products from companies located in quake-hit provinces.

The plan also aims to back quake-victim companies with technical materials, tax cuts, and salary supports.

Some NGOs started works in quake-hit regions for the continuation of agricultural production under a campaign, named It's Harvest Time.

Through the program, which aims to harvest the unharvested products and sell them to the retailers at the market price, farmers are immediately paid.

The Turkish Grain Board also continues their activities, purchasing products in the earthquake region without any type or quota limitation.

- Aid campaigns

Turkish companies announced many supportive steps such as monetary help, humanitarian aid, and employment of victims.

Companies from all around the world, including Mitsubishi, Tesco, Uber, PayPal, Cisco, Caterpillar, Adidas, PwC, Mondelez, and Rosatom, also supported quake victims through various programs.

After 10 days following the disaster, Türkiye's campaign for earthquake victims -- Türkiye One Heart -- raised some 115 billion Turkish liras ($6.1 billion).

Many countries and institutions also announced help projects.

Gulf and Arab countries donated significant amount of monetary help and provided huge amount of humanitarian aid and shelters.

Campaigns in Saudi Arabia and Qatar raised nearly $100 million, while Qatar's leader Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani individually donated $14 million individually.

The UAE and Libya also donated $50 million, each.

From Kuwait to Egypt, other Arab countries provided in-kind and in-cash donations, while low-income countries, such as Yemen and Palestine, also made donations.