Image I saw in Antioch and Alexandretta a few hours after earthquakes 7.8 and 7.6 Richter will forever remain in my memory.

Antioch is a city completely destroyed. Dozens of houses, entire apartment buildings were destroyed. There is no electricity, water or natural gas. “Aleppo in Syria disappeared because of the war, now Antioch is no more because of the earthquake,” local residents told us. They cite Syria as an example, since the border is next to them. Those who know the city well tell us that in Antioch alone, the death toll will exceed 15,000.

As soon as I began to walk the streets of the city, I immediately wanted to leave. I was scared. On the streets I met thousands of people trying to get somewhere. They go for hours. Some carry food received from the authorities, others carry water. Others are carrying bags to leave the city immediately. I travel around the area in a taxi that I took from Adana. Dozens of people approached me to escort them further to the bus station. Others asked me to take them to Adana. No one can leave, as there are no taxis or public transport. The entire city market collapsed. There are no shops and the only way to survive is either to have time to settle in tents set up by the state, which are not enough for everyone, or to find a way to leave!

This is another reason why there are serious problems on the roads leading to Antioch. Thousands of relatives of the victims rushed in their cars to the city to help their loved ones, resulting in tens of kilometers of traffic jams along with trucks heading into the city. Neither the ambulances nor the humanitarian aid trucks can arrive on time.

I saw a huge line at the grocery store that was closed. Its owner was afraid to open it as there was a risk of looting. I managed to get through the back door, saying “Yunan” (Greek), I showed him my name on the ID card, he was not afraid of me. There I took three boxes of cookies, cakes, waffles, went out and distributed mostly to children.

A similar image is in the ruins as EMAK fighters tried and were ready to pull out 35-year-old Hairie. A man from Syria approached me. He lived in Turkey for many years and asked me: “Who are they?”. I answered him “Yunan”. He hugged me.

Alexandretta, which is one of the most important ports in Turkey, a wealthy city with heavy industry, also suffered. In new buildings, most of the buildings collapsed. Many supermarkets remain closed and fear of looting is on the rise as many people sleep on the streets, in cars, in tents and struggle to find essentials.

The state is sending massive aid in the form of food, water, tents, container trucks, and hundreds of ambulances. In the first 48 hours, the state apparatus was inconsistent or simply absent. Gradually the situation improved.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited all the affected areas, trying to show that the state sympathizes with the victims of the earthquake. Political scientists believe that its political future will also depend on the work of the state apparatus. Turkey has huge potential and construction companies, as well as industry, which can meet the needs of reconstruction. Government services are more efficient today than they were during the 1999 earthquake.

The question is whether there are resources to finance such a titanic undertaking. The Turkish economy was already at its breaking point before the crash, and it was taken for granted that action would need to be taken after the May 14 presidential election. Turkey’s economic losses are difficult to estimate, but there are already reports of at least $50 billion. However, the picture I have come across has led me to conclude that the cost of an earthquake is greater, as the 10 cities of eastern Turkey have a population of 12.5 million and generate 15% of Turkey’s GDP. Not only apartment buildings were destroyed, but also industrial enterprises, power grids, natural gas networks, highways, airports.

It would be surprising if the elections were not postponed until at least the fall of 2023, which Erdogan can do in a state of emergency, and the opposition parties will not be able to react much, perhaps even make concessions. It is estimated that at least 50,000 people have died and a million have been left homeless, and only voter lists will need to be updated, and it is considered difficult to set up polling stations within a few months.

Turkey is also discussing the responsibility of the government and contractors noted by Mr. Erdogan, as most of the collapsed buildings were rebuilt. Building permits were issued in his day. Some believe that by denouncing some small contractors, people’s anger could be overcome.

If Mr. Erdogan manages to find financial resources to rebuild areas in cooperation with countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as Western funds, the jobs that will be created and the jobs that will be created could benefit his government .