• The earthquakes that shook Turkey’s southeast last month caused about 2 trillion liras.
• The toll on the economy is estimated to be around 9% of this year’s GDP.
• The earthquake in Marmara killed over 17,000 people.

The earthquakes that shook Turkey’s southeast last month caused about 2 trillion liras ($103.6 billion) in damage, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, in an official assessment published just days before the European Union holds a conference to aid in reconstruction.

The report released on Friday is one of the most comprehensive yet, covering the damage to buildings, infrastructure, industry, insurance, and the resulting macroeconomic impact. The toll on the economy is estimated to be around 9% of this year’s GDP, according to the presidency’s strategy and budget office.

According to a report posted on the ministry’s website on Friday titled “2023 Report on Kahramanmaraş and Hatay Earthquakes,” the quakes’ direct physical damage to buildings, residences, workplaces, factories, and machinery and equipment cost the country $84 billion.

According to the report, Turkey’s disaster cost is approximately TL 2 trillion ($103.6 billion), with an additional TL 351.4 billion ($18 billion) spent on emergency relief to the region, debris removal activities, insurance payments, and payments due to loss of income and a decrease in national income.

It was also stated that the amount corresponded to nearly 9% of Turkey’s expected national income for 2023, demonstrating that Turks suffered six times the material damage and losses in the 1999 earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.5 and struck the country’s mostly industrial and densely populated Marmara region.

According to official figures, the earthquake in Marmara killed over 17,000 people, damaged 285,000 buildings, and displaced 600,000 people. The 45-second temblor’s social and economic wounds took years to heal.

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