Experts specializing in natural disasters evaluate the economic damage from the destructive earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which occurred on February 6, more than $ 20 billion. At the same time, according to the initial assessment of the American company Verisk Analytics, only a small part of this amount – about one billion dollars – was insured, reports on Thursday, February 16, Reuters.
In turn, according to forecasts, natural disaster will cost Turkey up to one percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). “The earthquake mainly affected agricultural areas and regions with light industry, so the impact on other sectors is limited,” said Reuters, the chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Restoring work can compensate for the negative impact on the infrastructure and supply chains during the year, she believes.
The prognosis of the growth of the Turkish economy – the largest recipient of the EBRD – for the current year was revised in the direction of lowering: from 3.5 to 3.0 percent. This assessment does not yet fully take into account the consequences of a natural disaster. The Russian needs for external financing and the political uncertainty around the elections planned for this year have strengthened uncertainty, according to EBRR.