UN estimates Turkey earthquake damage will exceed 100 billion USD
(VOVWORLD) -Damage caused by a devastating earthquake in Turkey will exceed 100 billion USD, a UN Development Program official told a press briefing on Tuesday ahead of a major donor conference next week.
 Fatmagul, 19 years old, sits on the ruins of her home on March 4. (Photo: Reuters) |
The UNDP's Louisa Vinton said via video link from Gaziantep that it's clear from the calculations done so far that the damage will be in excess of 100 billion USD.
She added that this provisional damage figure, which covers just Turkey, is being used as the basis for a donor conference in Brussels on March 16 to mobilize funds for earthquake victims.
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that South Korea will give 10 million USD to help Turkey build shelters for survivors of last month's devastating earthquake.
The magnitude 7.8 quake on February 6 and 10,000 aftershocks killed more than 46,000 people in Turkey and more than 6,000 in Syria, while completely destroying hundreds of thousands of houses and apartments. It was the worst natural disaster in this area in a decade.