Türkiye was hit by a series of debilitating earthquakes in February 2023. Even for an earthquake prone region, the disaster was unprecedented in its scope and the magnitude of the destruction it caused. Fatalities to date number 48448; 3.3 million people have been displaced; and almost two million people are being sheltered in tent camps and container settlements. Apartment towers and village houses lie in ruins across a vast territory of 110,000 square km. As emergency response measures continue, the Government of Türkiye has announced ambitious reconstruction plans. Alongside its own analysis, the Government collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, along with the European Union (EU), in preparing a preliminary post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA).
The Government assigned the Strategy and Budget Office (SBO) of the Turkish Presidency with the task of preparing the assessment. The partners agreed to adapt the PDNA methodology to the specifics of the earthquake disaster and timeline and to collaborate on preliminary analysis, called the Türkiye Earthquakes Recovery and Reconstruction Assessment (TERRA). The TERRA presented here comprises of an assessment of the financial impact of the earthquakes, applying modified PDNA methodology, and a “recovery vision.”
Shedding light on the extent of the damage caused by the earthquake, the report includes the assessments regarding major losses of life as well as the damage, losses and needs related to physical assets. It was difficult, as well as time-consuming, to compile the information from the field, as the earthquake-affected region covers a vast area and the infrastructure and public administrations in the relevant provinces were also affected by the earthquake.
In order to overcome such difficulties, data was collected in coordination with numerous institutions and organizations under the coordination of the Strategy and Budget Office (SBO). Such data covers a multitude of areas, particularly post-earthquake actions, damage to physical assets, and the support provided with regard to public finance.
The damage/costs caused by the earthquake, on the other hand, were addressed by sector in terms of convergence with international standards. In this context, the damages were examined by social sectors (housing, education, healthcare, employment, environment); infrastructural sectors (water and sanitation, municipal services, energy, transportation, communication), and economic sectors (agriculture, mining, manufacturing industry, tourism). Furthermore, recommendations on short-, medium- and long-term objectives were presented for each sector.
The data from relevant ministries, unit costs and institutional opinions were combined and reflected in the report through the sectoral expertise of SBO, in order to ensure the utmost accuracy of the damage and loss data for each sector.
The earthquakes that occurred in the region once again underlined the importance of building earthquake-resilient cities and infrastructure. In addition to the major losses in human life, the damage to the physical capital is extremely costly. The burden of resources to be spent on reoperationalizing the cities is also very heavy.
In light of the extensive damages caused by the earthquakes, this report recommends a range of changes in construction standards and regulatory policies to ensure that settlements across the country, both those newly constructed and those already standing, are resilient to earthquakes and other disasters. Additional measures are also proposed to promote resilience against disaster risks, based on the participation of all stakeholders (citizens, local administrations, public agencies, professional chambers and academia).
These proposed measures are detailed in the recovery vision, which builds on the damage assessment presented in the report to flesh out a recovery vision for the region and identify some preliminary priority interventions in each sector and sub-sector.
Abstracted by Mr. Qu Minhao
Department of International Cooperation and Rescue, Ministry of Emergency Management, China
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