Turkey
Country profile
Turkey in the Balkan region is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the north-west; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the south-east. The country is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, and the Black Sea to the north. Turkey also borders the Sea of Marmara, which, as it is used by geographers to mark the border between Europe and Asia, makes Turkey transcontinental.
Turkey's area, inclusive of lakes, occupies 779,452 square kilometres with a population of 72,065,000 and a population density of 92 people per kilometre (World Bank 2005). Turkey has an area bigger than all the rest of the SEE countries put together, and has a population larger than the aggregate population of all the other SEE countries.
Since the economic crisis of 2001, inflation has fallen to single-digit numbers, investor confidence and foreign investments have soared, and unemployment has fallen. Turkey has gradually opened up its markets through economic reforms by reducing government controls on foreign trade and investment. Privatization of publicly-owned industries and liberalization of many sectors to private and foreign participation has continued, amid political debate. The GDP growth rate for 2005 was 7.4 per cent, making Turkey one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Turkey's GDP ranks seventeenth in the world and Turkey is a member of "G20", which brings together the 20 largest economies of the globe. Turkey's economy is no longer dominated by traditional agricultural activities in the rural areas, but more so by a highly dynamic industrial complex in the major cities, mostly concentrated in the western provinces of the country, along with a developed services sector. The agricultural sector accounts for 11.9 per cent of GDP,
whereas industrial and service sectors make up 23.7 per cent and 64.5 per cent, respectively.
Risk assessment
Turkey is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and technological hazards. Technological hazards contribute to about 54 per cent and earthquakes 19 per cent of the hazards recorded during the last 33 years in the EM-DAT database. As per EM-DAT, the country has recorded almost all kinds of hazards: earthquake, extreme temperature, flood, landslide, epidemic, windstorm, wildfire and technological hazards. The incidence of hazards during the period 1974-2006 shows that there has been a steady increase in the number of events; in both natural and technological hazards. The annual incidence of both natural and technological hazards shows a steady rise over the period. Almost all years have recorded at least one event, and in 2004, 10 natural hazards events and 10 technological hazard events took place in the country. Eleven technological hazard events were recorded in 2003. The disaster impact indicator shows that the country is highly vulnerable to earthquakes. Turkey probably has highest figures recorded in entire SEE region in the numbers for deaths (31,065), victims (8,091) and economic losses (USD 18,499 million) due to both natural and man-made disasters, as per EM-DAT. Turkey lies in one of the most active seismogenic and volcanic regions in the world. There are three different major fault systems in Anatolia from east to west; about 70 per cent of the country's population and 75 per cent of industrial facilities are vulnerable to earthquake, and 66 per cent of the country is located in the active fault zone. It is estimated that 64 per cent of Turkey's total disaster losses in the last century are due to earthquakes.
Distribution of Hazards
Rapid and uncontrolled urbanization has increased the level of vulnerability to earthquakes. There have been approximately 70 major earthquakes in the last century, collectively causing the deaths of 100,000 people and destroying 500,000 homes. In 1999, two major earthquakes hit the Marmara region, killing 17,225 people and destroying 38,240 buildings. Viewed within the context of loss of life and injury, earthquakes account for about 90 percent of losses.