UK charities launching appeal for people hit by earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

The Disasters Emergency Committee is co-ordinating a joint rapid response by 14 charities.
Rescuers and residents search through the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Harem near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
AP
Tim Sigsworth8 February 2023
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

British humanitarian charities are to launch an appeal to raise funds for people affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is co-ordinating a joint rapid response by 14 charities including the British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children, is acting after at least 11,000 people were killed in the disaster.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the Government would match any donations made by the public.

“When disasters like these terrible earthquakes strike, we know the British people want to help,” he said.

“They have shown time and again that few are more generous and compassionate.

“That is why we are match-funding public donations to DEC’s appeal to provide urgent humanitarian assistance, as part of a wider package of support from the UK that will be used to provide lifesaving interventions to those who need it most in the region.”

The first 7.8-magnitude quake hit the Turkish city of Gaziantep in the early hours of Monday, reducing thousands of homes and buildings across the south of the country and northern Syria to rubble as people slept.

A series of aftershocks has left tens of thousands injured and survivors are feared trapped under thousands of collapsed buildings.

Salah Saeed, the DEC’s chief executive, said funds were “urgently needed” to deal with the “heartbreaking” situation.

“In Turkey alone, 6,000 buildings including schools and health centres have collapsed, with infrastructure vital to everyday life such as sanitation and water supplies badly damaged,” he said.

“Funds are urgently needed to support families with medical aid, emergency shelter, food and clean water in freezing, snowy conditions.”

Relief efforts have been hampered by damaged infrastructure, freezing winter temperatures and limited medical facilities.

The DEC said it expects humanitarian needs to grow over the coming days, with access to shelter, clean water and warmth all potential risks.

Salah Aboulgasem, who is working with charity Islamic Relief in Gazientep, said there is “a lot of screaming” in the devastated areas.

He said: “The priority right now is saving lives by clearing the rubble.

“The next priority is supporting people who have lost their homes and gone through huge trauma.

People need medicines and warmth. There is a lot of screaming, people are trying to find relatives.

“A lot of people are sleeping in cars because they are scared to go back into the buildings due to aftershocks. The cars are freezing cold.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in