Turkey earthquake: Damages estimated to surpass $20 billion
Turkey earthquake: Damages from massive earthquakes in Turkey will probably exceed $20 billion, the risk modelling company Verisk estimated on Tuesday as per Reuters. According to the report, Verisk said only a fraction of the damages – likely more than $1 billion – was covered by insurance. “These devasting earthquakes caused not only extensive physical damage but also a tragic loss of life in Turkey and Syria,” said Bill Churney, president of extreme event solutions, Verisk.
The death toll from the disaster has already surpassed 35,000 and this number is likely to rise further. The powerful earthquake was of 7.8 magnitude and it caused massive destruction in Turkey and Syria.
Turkey has a long history of building codes that have been developed to ensure the safety of buildings against earthquakes. Despite this, Verisk said, the seismic performance of buildings in Turkey during earthquakes has been mixed.
“Buildings complied with codes have performed relatively well, while many others have experienced significant damage and collapse during earthquakes,” it said.
Earlier, David Wald, a scientist at the United States Geological Survey, said it was difficult to watch the tragedy unfold in Turkey and Syria, especially since the buildings in the region “were not designed to withstand earthquakes”.
He said an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude had the potential to be damaging anywhere in the world, “but many structures in this region are particularly vulnerable”.
Kishor Jaiswal, another scientist, said while newer buildings were designed with modern earthquake standards in mind, the area affected by the earthquake included more vulnerable buildings, like older types of concrete frames that were not designed from seismic considerations to absorb this much ground motion.
According to reports, Turkey has issued 113 arrest warrants in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in the earthquake. The Turkish Police have already taken at least 12 people into custody, including building contractors, BBC reported on Monday.
