Quake toll surpasses 11,000; Turkey Halts Trading After $35-Bn Wipeout

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited southern Turkey on Wednesday to see first-hand the destruction wrought by a massive earthquake as the confirmed death toll from the quake rose to more than 11,000 (at the time of going to press) people in both countries.

The tally was expected to rise as hundreds of collapsed buildings in many cities have become tombs for people who had been asleep in the homes when the quake hit in the early morning.

Amid calls for the Turkish government to send more help to the disaster zone, President Erdoğan toured a “tent city” in Kahramanmaras where people forced from their homes are living. He conceded shortfalls early on in the response but vowed that no one would “be left in the streets.” 

He admitted to problems with his government’s initial response amid anger from those left destitute and frustrated over the slow arrival of rescue teams.

Erdoğan, who contests an election in May, said on a visit to the disaster zone that operations were now working normally.

But across a swathe of southern Turkey, people sought temporary shelter and food in freezing winter weather, and waited in anguish by piles of rubble where family and friends may lie buried. Rescuers were still digging out some people alive. Others were found dead.

There were similar scenes and complaints in neighbouring Syria, where the impact of Monday’s huge quake extended to.

Stock market closed: A first in 24 years

Turkey’s stock exchange suspended trading for the first time in 24 years, following a selloff that erased $35 billion from the value of its main equities gauge in the wake of two devastating earthquakes. 

“Our stock exchange has decided to halt trading in equities, futures and options markets,” Borsa Istanbul said in a statement on Wednesday morning. It didn’t say when trading would resume. 

The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index has lost 16 per cent this week. 

Turkish stocks, which are this year’s worst performers globally, entered a technical bear market on Tuesday after falling more than 20 per cent from their January high.

“At times of catastrophes like this, suspending trading in the stock market is a better decision in order to protect investors,” said Haydar Acun, managing partner of Marmara Capital in Istanbul. 

Investing in equities is popular among locals as a hedge against the country’s rampant inflation, which surged to a high of around 86 per cent in 2022.