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Rescuers pulled more survivors from rubble on Sunday, six days after one of the worst earthquakes to hit Turkey and Syria, as authorities sought to maintain order across the disaster zone and started legal action over building collapses.
The death toll stood at 33,179 on Sunday and was certain to rise as search teams locate more bodies in the rubble. Authorities said over 92,600 other people were injured in the disaster.
The death toll from the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria will “double or more” from its current level, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths told Sky News. Arriving in Turkey’s southern city of Kahramanmaras, he said, “I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble but I’m sure it will double or more.”
“Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary numbers of those affected for the next months,” he added.
Quakes cost pegged at $84 billion
The two massive earthquakes are expected to result in a loss to Turkey’s economy of over $84 billion, or about 10 per cent of the GDP, according to estimates of a business group.
The quakes are projected to have caused about $70.8 billion of damage to residential buildings and a further $10.4 billion loss in national income, the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation said.
The group, commonly known as Turkonfed, said losses to the labor force would cost Turkey’s economy $2.
