UN Says Turkish Earthquake Damage Will Exceed $100 Billion

The damage caused by earthquakes in Turkey will exceed $100bn, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official says.

The UNDP’s Louisa Vinton said on Tuesday: “It’s clear from the calculations being done to date that the damage figure presented by the government and supported by international partners would be in excess of $100bn."

Vinton said the Turkish government with support from the UNDP, the World Bank and the European Union had calculated far higher damage.

The World Bank had previously estimated the direct damage in Turkey at $34.2 billion.

But it said recovery and reconstruction costs will be much higher and losses to Turkey’s gross domestic product associated with economic disruptions caused by the quakes will also add to the cost.

More than 52,000 people were killed in Turkey and northwestern Syria by the February 6 earthquakes.