Recovery, reconstruction assessment report shows that \u2018needs are vast, urgent,\u2019 says T\u00fcrkiye representative Louisa Vinton
\n GENEVA
\nAfter two powerful earthquakes that struck T\u00fcrkiye on Feb. 6 turned cities into rubble along a 500-kilometer (311-mile) diameter, \u201cnow is the time for the world to come to T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s aid,\u201d the UN Development Programme (UNDP) T\u00fcrkiye representative said Monday.
\n\u201cThe scale of destruction is hard to comprehend. The affected region is as big in area as Austria or Portugal, housing a population of more than 15 million people (16.4% of the country\u2019s total population),\u201d Louisa Vinton said in a written statement to Anadolu.
\n\u201cAn estimated 2.3 million people are currently living in tents and containers in the region, while millions more are believed to have left the earthquake zone for shelter outside,\u201d Vinton added.
\nShe noted that the Turkish government has committed huge resources to help those affected and has announced ambitious plans not only for temporary shelters but also for full reconstruction.
\nThe world has also raced to support the response, with 88 countries dispatching more than 11,000 personnel to support search and rescue efforts and provide emergency medical assistance, she said.
\nMeanwhile, the UN system has also mobilized its full resources. UN agencies are supporting the emergency response, with 6 million hot meals delivered so far along with tents, warm clothing, and hygiene supplies, as well as \u201cearly recovery\u201d efforts aimed at getting life back to normal for affected people as soon as possible.
\n\u2018Needs are vast and urgent\u2019
\nRecalling the flash appeal of $1 billion that was launched for T\u00fcrkiye on Feb. 16, Vinton said that so far, $167.4 million (16.6%) has been collected, and \u201cthough a small share of what was requested, this is still a sizable amount.\u201d
\n\u201cWill this be enough? Not by a long shot, it seems, especially when the costs of recovery and reconstruction are taken into account,\u201d she warned, adding a preliminary assessment of the financial impact of the earthquakes prepared by the government of T\u00fcrkiye with support from the UNDP and other UN agencies working together with the World Bank and the European Union puts the cost of reconstruction at $103.6 billion.
\nAccording to a report by the T\u00fcrkiye Earthquakes Recovery and Reconstruction Assessment (TERRA), published on March 17, the estimated cost of the destroyed housing alone is $66.2 billion.
\nInfrastructure and utilities will require an estimated cost of $10.2 billion, education $6.7 billion, healthcare $5.6 billion, and other expenses $14.9 billion.
\n\u201cThis vast amount is an accurate reflection of the dramatic scale of the destruction that T\u00fcrkiye has experienced,\u201d she said. \u201cEquivalent to 9% of Turkish GDP, it also suggests that even a country as economically resilient as T\u00fcrkiye will struggle to afford the cost of reconstruction on its own.\u201d
\nShe stressed that closing the gap between needs and means will thus depend \u201cheavily on international solidarity and generosity.\u201d
\n\u201cAs the TERRA (report) shows, the needs are vast and urgent, now is the time for the world to come to T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s aid,\u201d Vinton said.
\nShe said these numbers from the report will be presented at a donor conference which will be attended by 500 world leaders in Brussels later in the day.
\n\u201cThe world\u2019s leading economies will have a chance to stand with T\u00fcrkiye at a time of utmost need by pledging sufficient financial support,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cWhat donors need to remember as they formulate their pledges is that this is an opportunity to reciprocate the unparalleled generosity that T\u00fcrkiye has shown over the past decade, in providing a safe haven to the world\u2019s largest refugee population,\u201d she said, adding that Syrians accounted for 13.7% of the earthquake victims in the country.
\nRecalling UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres\u2019 remarks on Feb. 9 that \u201ca center of solidarity is now an epicenter of suffering,\u201d she said \u201cthe international community needs to show the people of T\u00fcrkiye the same kind of support and generosity they have shown in receiving, protecting and assisting millions of refugees and displaced people.\u201d
\nMore than 49,500 people were killed in T\u00fcrkiye by magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes that hit on Feb. 6, according to officials.
\nOver 13.5 million people have been affected in T\u00fcrkiye by the massive quakes which struck the provinces of Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Recovery, reconstruction assessment report shows that \u2018needs are vast, urgent,\u2019 says T\u00fcrkiye representative Louisa Vinton GENEVA After two powerful earthquakes that struck T\u00fcrkiye on Feb. 6 turned cities into rubble along a 500-kilometer (311-mile) diameter, \u201cnow is the time for the world to come to T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s aid,\u201d the UN Development Programme (UNDP) T\u00fcrkiye representative said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-320697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n