Access to Twitter was restricted in Turkey in the wake of the earthquakes, an internet monitor group said, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a tour of the disaster zone.
(Bloomberg) —
Access to Twitter was restricted in Turkey in the wake of the earthquakes, an internet monitor group said, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a tour of the disaster zone.
The death toll across Turkey and neighboring Syria surpassed 11,600, with thousands more trapped inside buildings damaged in the temblors that struck Monday.
Turkey’s stock exchange canceled trades made on Wednesday and said the market would be closed for five business days.
Key Developments
- Erdogan Vows Building Blitz to Renew Quake-Hit Areas Within Year
- Turkey Halts Stock Trading for Five Days and Cancels Some Trades
- Turkey Earthquake Highlights $30 Billion Loans, Sub-10% of Total
- Erdogan Wants Elections in May Despite Earthquake Fallout
- Turkey Restarts Oil Loadings at Mediterranean Export Terminal
- CityLab Daily: The City Hardest-Hit by Turkey’s Earthquake
(All times Istanbul, GMT +3)
Turkey Death Toll Rises to 9,057 (6:19 p.m.)
The number of fatalities in Turkey rose to 9,057, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, bringing total deaths including Syria to over 11,600.
The number of injured in Turkey is 52,979, he added.
Turkish Stocks to Restart Trading on Feb. 15 (5:24 p.m.)
The Turkish stock exchange canceled trades from February 8 and said trading would resume on February 15, according to a statement.
Twitter Access Restricted in Turkey, Monitor Says (5:05 p.m.)
Access to Twitter was restricted on multiple internet providers in Turkey on Wednesday, internet monitor NetBlocks said, citing real-time data.
Users can still use virtual private networks, or VPNs, to bypass the restrictions, it added.
Main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said on Twitter that the government was behind the restriction.
The Presidency published a “disinformation bulletin” on Tuesday criticizing some social media posts that questioned the extent of the state response to the earthquakes.
Over 11,000 Dead in Latest Toll (4:45 p.m.)
Erdogan said 8,574 people have died in the quakes so far in Turkey, with over 49,000 people injured. In Syria, the death toll reached 2,600, AP reported.
Ukraine Sends Rescue Team to Turkey (3:30 p.m.)
Ukraine sent a 90-person squad to Turkey to conduct rescue operations over the next 10 days, Volodymyr Demchuk, the representative of Ukrainian State Emergency Service said at the press conference in Kyiv.
“If necessary, the mission will be extended”, he said, adding that the team has experience working with rubble after Russian rocket and drone attacks on Ukraine.
Erdogan Promises Reconstruction Within a Year (3:16 p.m.)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to rebuild quake-hit provinces within a year.
“If anyone prefers not to stay in tents, we can transfer them to hotels in Alanya, Mersin and Antalya” on the Mediterranean coast, Erdogan said on a visit to Kahramanmaras, the first stop on his planned tour of the affected provinces.
He announced 10,000 lira ($531) handouts for each family affected by the quakes.
Read more: Erdogan Vows Building Blitz to Renew Quake-Hit Areas Within Year
Fire at Iskenderun Port Put Out, Containers Being Cooled (2:55 p.m.)
A fire at container storage site in Turkey’s Iskenderun port has been extinguished after fire boats and helicopters were deployed to the area on the Mediterranean coast, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
The fire at Iskenderun port, owned by Limak Group, started on Monday after the earthquakes.
Iraq Says One of Three Bays For Its Oil at Ceyhan Is Open (2:10 p.m.)
Only one of three bays for Iraq’s oil at the Turkish port of Ceyhan is open, according to SOMO, the Iraqi state crude-marketing firm.
The other two are still being inspected, Mohammed Saadoon, a SOMO official, told Bloomberg.
The quay that’s open is loading oil from the Kurdish region onto a tanker, while a ship for the federal government is waiting to come in after, he said.
Turkey Halts Trading in Stock Market After $35 Billion Wipeout (1:23 p.m.)
The Turkish stock exchange suspended trading for the first time in 24 years, following a three-day rout that erased $35 billion from the benchmark equity index this week.
Trading was last suspended in 1999 after a major earthquake that struck the northwestern Marmara region.
Read More: Turkey Halts Trading in Stock Market After $35 Billion Wipeout
Erdogan Wants Elections in May Despite Earthquake Fallout (11:00 a.m.)
Erdogan is working on the assumption that general elections will be held in Turkey three months from now despite twin earthquakes devastating much of the southeast. Officials familiar with the discussions said Erdogan is planning to hold the vote on May 14 as originally planned.
BP Says Turkish Port of Ceyhan Still Not Loading BTC Oil (10:57a.m.)
Exports of crude oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline are continuing as normal, but barrels are not being loaded onto tankers at the Turkish port, Tamam Bayalti, a spokesperson in BP’s Baku office, said by phone.
Turkey Banking Sector Loan Exposure (10:18 a.m.)
Turkish banking sector’s loan exposure in the earthquake zone is more than 500 billion lira ($26.5 billion), less than 10% of total loans, according to Bloomberg Intelligence calculations.
Turkey Restarts Crude Oil Loadings at Ceyhan Terminal (9:02 a.m.)
Turkish pipeline operator Botas restarted flows of crude oil to the Ceyhan export terminal on the Mediterranean coast late on Tuesday, an official with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
Ship loadings from the terminal, which exports Azerbaijani and Iraqi oil, resumed around midnight, they added.
Botas had halted oil flows to the terminal after Monday’s first quake to inspect the facility, but no leaks or damage were found.
Turkey Deploys Commandos in Quake Zone (7:50 a.m.)
The Turkish military has been sending thousands of commandos and other units to the quake zone from barracks located in the country’s west and Cyprus.
Before the most recent period of mobilization began, 7,500 soldiers were already helping rescue operations, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said late Tuesday.
Ro-Ro Vessels Carrying Aid to Survivors (7:19 a.m.)
Two companies that operate roll-on/roll-off vessels have dispatched ships to aid quake survivors due to difficulties in reaching disaster areas via land, Ekonomi newspaper reports.
DFDS sent the Pergamon Seaways from Istanbul, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The 213-meter vessel will deliver cranes and aid material, Ekonomi reported.
Ulusoy Shipping sent the Ulusoy 5 Ro-Ro from Izmir to the Port of Iskenderun on Wednesday morning, Anadolu Agency reported. The ship is expected to arrive with a similar cargo in 40 hours.
Main Opposition Leader Holds Erdogan Responsible (2:24 a.m.)
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of main opposition party CHP, said he will not treat disaster management as something to be “above politics,” adding that President Erdogan is responsible for the failures and “corruption” that amplified the damage.
“I don’t need to be in solidarity with Erdogan and his palace,” Kilicdaroglu said in a video posted on Twitter. Erdogan has held talks with many opposition leaders since the quakes but hasn’t called Kilicdaroglu.
Iraq’s Kurdistan Says Oil Flows to Ceyhan Resumed (00:44 a.m.)
Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish government said it resumed crude oil flows to Ceyhan port late Tuesday.
–With assistance from Beril Akman, Ugur Yilmaz, Patrick Sykes, Tugce Ozsoy, Olesia Safronova, Asli Kandemir, Demetrios Pogkas, Khalid Al-Ansary, Selcan Hacaoglu and Firat Kozok.
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