Thousands of foreign aid workers have arrived in Turkey and the first UN aid convoy has entered Syria after this week’s twin earthquakes.
(Bloomberg) — Thousands of foreign aid workers have arrived in Turkey and the first UN aid convoy has entered Syria after this week’s twin earthquakes.
The death toll is nearing 18,000 across Turkey and neighboring Syria, with thousands still missing.
Turkey’s parliament will meet on Thursday to vote on a three-month state of emergency in the affected areas, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits the quake-hit provinces of Gaziantep, Osmaniye and Kilis.
Key Developments
- Turkey Assets Stop Skid as Investors Weigh Post-Disaster Risks
- BP Says Exports of Azeri Oil From Turkey Are Yet to Restart (1)
- Erdogan Vows Building Blitz to Renew Quake-Hit Areas Within Year
- Turkey Risks Inflation Surge, Budget Breach as Quake Costs Mount
- Turkey Halts Stock Trading for Five Days and Cancels Some Trades
- Erdogan Wants Elections in May Despite Earthquake Fallout
(All times Istanbul, GMT +3)
Death Toll Rises Above 17,900 (2:19 p.m.)
Turkey’s death toll rose to 14,351, Vice President Fuat Oktay said in parliament, bringing the total including Syria to 17,907.
Oktay added that 63,794 people have been injured in Turkey.
First UN Aid Shipment Enters Northwest Syria (2:00 p.m.)
The first convoy of UN humanitarian aid crossed into Syria from Turkey’s Cilvegozu border crossing in Hatay Province, according to the Syrian American Medical Society, which operates on both sides of the border.
The six-truck convoy, carrying shelter-related materials and items like blankets and hygiene products, was delayed by damage to roads, according to Dima Marrawi, senior communications and advocacy officer at SAMS.
Marrawi, who spoke from the outskirts of Turkey’s Gaziantep, said the shipment hardly responds to the the scale of devastation in northwest Syria and people’s most urgent needs. SAMS-run hospitals in the area have little left to treat the overwhelming number of spine injuries and bone fractures coming in, she said.
Turkey to Vote on State of Emergency (1:27 p.m.)
Turkey’s parliament will vote on Thursday afternoon on whether to implement a state of emergency in the quake-hit areas, Erdogan said, adding that he expects it to pass.
State-of-emergency powers would enable the government to stop “malicious groups” including looting and theft that’s taken place in some areas, he said.
Fitch Sees Insurable Losses Exceeding $4 Billion (12:28 p.m.)
Fitch Ratings said insurable economic losses following the quakes could exceed $4 billion, though it added it was hard to estimate while the situation was still evolving.
The rating firm estimated insured losses at around $1 billion due to low insurance coverage in the affected regions.
Turkish Presidency Criticizes Politicians Who ‘Sow Division’ (10:40 a.m.)
“This is no time for politics, and we strongly condemn some statements made by some political figures that seek to sow divisions,” Erdogan’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun says on Twitter.
Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has said Erdogan is responsible for failures that amplified the damage.
More than 5,000 foreign personnel involved in rescue (10:31 a.m.)
Fifty-one countries have dispatched rescue teams to Turkey, the government says. There are 5,125 foreign personnel in the field. Other countries are expected to send teams.
BP Says Unclear When Exports of Azeri Oil Will Resume (10.20 a.m.)
Exports of Azeri oil from Turkey’s port of Ceyhan still haven’t resumed and it’s unclear when they will, a BP Plc spokesperson said.
All quays at the eastern Mediterranean port — which normally handles about 1 million barrels a day of crude — were shut on Monday for safety checks following two devastating earthquakes.
Flows through the pipelines running to the terminal restarted late on Tuesday.
–With assistance from Sam Dagher, Beril Akman, Patrick Sykes and Ugur Yilmaz.
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