President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the disaster zone stricken by two massive earthquakes, following his declaration of a state of emergency in the area.
(Bloomberg) —
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the disaster zone stricken by two massive earthquakes, following his declaration of a state of emergency in the area.
The death toll across Turkey and neighboring Syria neared 10,000, with many more trapped inside the more than 11,000 buildings damaged in the temblors that struck Monday.
A stock-market selloff in Turkey wiped $35 billion from the main index’s value, halted only when the exchange suspended trading.
Key Developments
- Turkey Halts Trading in Stock Market After $35 Billion Wipeout
- Turkey Earthquake Highlights $30 Billion Loans, Sub-10% of Total
- Erdogan Wants Elections in May Despite Earthquake Fallout
- Turkey Restarts Oil Loadings at Mediterranean Export Terminal
- CityLab Daily: The City Hardest-Hit by Turkey’s Earthquake
(All times Istanbul, GMT +3)
Turkey Halts Trading in Stock Market After $35 Billion Wipeout (1:23 p.m.)
The Turkish stock exchange suspended trading for the first time in 24 years, following a three-day rout that erased $35 billion from the benchmark equity index this week.
Borsa Istanbul didn’t say when trading would resume. Trading was last suspended in 1999 after a major earthquake that struck the northwestern Marmara region.
Read More: Turkey Halts Trading in Stock Market After $35 Billion Wipeout
Erdogan Wants Elections in May Despite Earthquake Fallout (11:00 a.m.)
Erdogan is working on the assumption that general elections will be held in Turkey three months from now despite twin earthquakes devastating much of the southeast. Officials familiar with the discussions said Erdogan is planning to hold the vote on May 14 as originally planned.
BP Says Turkish Port of Ceyhan Still Not Loading BTC Oil (10:57a.m.)
Exports of crude oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline are continuing as normal, but barrels are not being loaded onto tankers at the Turkish port, Tamam Bayalti, a spokesperson in BP’s Baku office, said by phone.
Turkey Banking Sector Loan Exposure (10:18 a.m.)
Turkish banking sector’s loan exposure in the earthquake zone is more than 500 billion lira ($26.5 billion), less than 10% of total loans, according to Bloomberg Intelligence calculations.
Turkey’s Death Toll Nears 7,000 (09:45 a.m.)
The death toll in the country climbed to 6,957, disaster management presidency AFAD said. In Syria, at least 1,832 were killed in government and rebel-controlled areas, according to an AP report.
Scenes of young children, a pregnant woman and other victims still being pulled to safety highlight the thousands of people who have been rescued so far.
President Erdogan to Visit Quake Zones (9:33 a.m.)
Turkish President Erdogan is expected to visit Kahramanmaras and Hatay, two provinces severely affected by the earthquake, on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Presidency.
Turkey Restarts Crude Oil Loadings at Ceyhan Terminal (9:02 a.m.)
Turkish pipeline operator Botas restarted flows of crude oil to the Ceyhan export terminal on the Mediterranean coast late on Tuesday, an official with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
Ship loadings from the terminal, which exports Azerbaijani and Iraqi oil, resumed around midnight, they added.
Botas had halted oil flows to the terminal after Monday’s first quake to inspect the facility, but no leaks or damage were found.
Turkey Deploys Commandos in Quake Zone (7:50 a.m.)
The Turkish military has been sending thousands of commandos and other units to the quake zone from barracks located in the country’s west and Cyprus.
Before the most recent period of mobilization began, 7,500 soldiers were already helping rescue operations, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said late Tuesday.
Ro-Ro Vessels Carrying Aid to Survivors (7:19 a.m.)
Two companies that operate roll-on/roll-off vessels have dispatched ships to aid quake survivors due to difficulties in reaching disaster areas via land, Ekonomi newspaper reports.
DFDS sent the Pergamon Seaways from Istanbul, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The 213-meter vessel will deliver cranes and aid material, Ekonomi reported.
Ulusoy Shipping sent the Ulusoy 5 Ro-Ro from Izmir to the Port of Iskenderun on Wednesday morning, Anadolu Agency reported. The ship is expected to arrive with a similar cargo in 40 hours.
Main Opposition Leader Holds Erdogan Responsible (2:24 a.m.)
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of main opposition party CHP, said he will not treat disaster management as something to be “above politics,” adding that President Erdogan is responsible for the failures and “corruption” that amplified the damage.
“I don’t need to be in solidarity with Erdogan and his palace,” Kilicdaroglu said in a video posted on Twitter. Erdogan has held talks with many opposition leaders since the quakes but hasn’t called Kilicdaroglu.
Iraq’s Kurdistan Says Oil Flows to Ceyhan Resumed (00:44 a.m.)
Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish government said it resumed crude oil flows to Ceyhan port late Tuesday.
–With assistance from Selcan Hacaoglu, Firat Kozok, Beril Akman, Ugur Yilmaz, Patrick Sykes, Tugce Ozsoy and Asli Kandemir.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.