Natural disasters and economic security

The aftermath of the earthquake that jolted Türkiye continues to be felt. Unfortunately, the sad picture is getting worse with every passing day. The death toll continues to rise. We'll be able to see the clear situation when all the debris is cleared. Meanwhile, life continues in the disaster area. Container and tent cities continue to be established. Aid is now delivered more regularly, relative to the first few days of the disaster. Of course, I will not do an economic accounting while our pain is so fresh and our loss of people is so great. However, it is worth remembering today that the disaster has an economic security dimension.

Security, as a concept, means the preservation of the obtained values. When it comes to economic security, we consider not only the protection of the obtained economic values, but also the removal of the obstacles in front of the economic values that have the potential to be obtained.

Meanwhile, when talking about the concept of economic security; we mean the ability to use own resources and own capabilities to cope with the problems faced.

The human dimension of disasters is above all economic accounting. On the other hand, the continuation of the economic life of the country where the disaster occurred is essential for meeting the needs of the disaster victims and for the citizens of that country to continue their lives.

There are examples that the problems that arose in the countries where major disasters took place, related to the functioning of economic life, delayed or made it difficult to heal the wounds caused by the disaster. In this respect, the issue of economic security should also be evaluated as the ability to do what needs to be done after disasters.

The real economic power of a country; It is directly proportional to technology development, production, qualified employment and export capacity. This capacity also provides that country with the opportunity to cope with adverse situations such as war, disaster or epidemic. In that case, in order to heal our wounds after the disaster, it is necessary to take on the agenda the issue of taking steps to protect and even strengthen the economic power at the same time.

I tried to give general information about the subject above. However, in summary, I should state that disasters are a serious economic security problem. However, the size of this problem is relative to the level of being affected by the disaster. For example, the effects of a small-scale flood and a large regional earthquake on economic security are very different. In this respect, choosing the location to be least affected by disasters and building strong structures is at the top of the list of things to be done in order to establish economic security at the same time.