World Bank: Earthquake caused $5.1 billion in damage in Syria

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The World Bank announced that Syria suffered $5.1 billion in damage from last month's massive earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey and northern parts of the war-torn country, AP reported.

At least 50,000 people died in the earthquake, including about 6,000 in Syria, according to United Nations data. Tens of thousands are still missing, and hundreds of thousands have been left homeless.

In its report, the World Bank states that the level of damage in Syria is about 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

The northern Syrian province of Aleppo was the hardest-hit region, with 45% of the total damage in Syria and damage of about $2.3 billion. The rebel-held region in the northwest, home to about 4.6 million people, many of whom were previously displaced by the war in Syria, was also severely affected.

Damage in the northwestern province of Idlib is estimated at $1.9 billion, and in Latakia, a government-controlled territory on the coast, at $549 million.

The earthquake also exacerbated countless other hardships in Syria, where a nearly 12-year civil war has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of the country's pre-war population of 23 million.

The World Bank warned that there is still a significant degree of uncertainty surrounding its preliminary assessment.

"The disaster will cause a decline in economic activity, which will further affect Syria's growth prospects," said Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Director for the Middle East.

The damages estimated in the report include both the residential and non-residential sectors, such as direct damage to buildings and structures, as well as damage to cultural heritage sites, which is particularly difficult to quantify. In an earlier assessment report, the World Bank stated on Monday that the damage in Turkey from last month's earthquake is estimated at $34.2 billion.