ACTION ALERT – Turkey-Syria Earthquake
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit SE Turkey and NW Syria Monday, February 6th, with a major 7.5-magnitude aftershock. Current estimates state the quakes have killed over 47,000 and that number is expected to rise, and WHO says 26 million people need assistance across both countries. Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s Europe director, said relief workers were facing “the worst natural disaster in the region for a century”, adding that 26 million people need assistance across both countries. The WHO launched the largest rescue operation of its kind in the organisation’s 75-year history.
The early morning 7.8-magnitude earthquake was centered about 20 miles from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital in Turkey. The first quake was Turkey’s largest disaster since 1939, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
According to NPR (Feb.9):
- Turkey reported that more than 380,000 people are displaced.
- Syria reported that 298,000 of its citizens are displaced, but those figures were in government-controlled parts of the country. Opposition-controlled areas have not yet reported this number.
- Turkey’s emergency management agency said it has set up at least 92,000 tents and sent more than 5,000 vehicles to the region.
- There are 98,000 Turkish and international rescuers dispatched to the region.
- Destruction from the quake stretched along a 200-mile-long swath of mountains.
- An estimated 13.5 million people in Turkey are impacted by the quake with millions more in Syria
Why Was The Turkey-Syria Earthquake So Bad?
Read below how GlobalWA members have been quick to respond. Please consider donating to help out in this time of crisis.
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Amazon Disaster Relief: Amazon activates disaster relief services to help organizations responding to the devastating earthquake in Turkey
To assist impacted communities, Amazon has activated its disaster relief capabilities and is responding to help meet the immediate needs of the Red Crescent and other relief organizations. We are preparing to ship donated relief items from our fulfillment center in Istanbul to affected areas. Our donations will include items such as blankets, tents, heaters, food, diapers, baby food, medicine, and other emergency items as victims face not only the damage from the earthquake but frigid winter weather.
Americares: Americares Responds to Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
Americares is preparing to send medicine, relief supplies and emergency funding to restore health services for survivors of the devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria early Monday, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring thousands more, according to local officials.
Read more and donate to Americares »
CARE: Turkey Syria Earthquakes Fund
Your gift to CARE’s Turkey Syria Earthquakes Fund helps us to reach tens of thousands of vulnerable people with emergency food, health services, shelter and much more.
At CARE we take our commitment to steward your donations very seriously. In the case where donations for a particular appeal exceed what is needed or where local conditions prevent program implementation, we will redirect your dollars to families who urgently need humanitarian support because of war, hunger or other crisis situations around the world.
Read more and donate to CARE »
Concern Worldwide: Earthquake Emergency Appeal
Concern Worldwide is currently supplying blankets and heaters in Şanlıurfa, close to the epicentre of the earthquakes in southern Turkey, along with food and water.
Concern is also opening community centres that are deemed safe, so families have somewhere to sleep. In northwest Syria, Concern is working with local partners to assess what response is needed.
“The biggest priority for people affected by these earthquakes is shelter as it’s currently below freezing in the areas hit by the earthquakes,” said Fiona Gannon, regional director with Concern.
Read more and donate to Concern Worldwide »
Global Impact: Turkey-Syria Earthquake Relief Fund
The last thing this region needed was this emergency. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey, close to the Syrian border, on Monday, Feb. 6. Over 5,200 people have died and 25,000 are injured. Those numbers continue to rise as rescue efforts continue.
Please give to the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Relief Fund today so we can support the charities responding to this crisis. Our leading international partners are on the ground and getting to the people who need help the most.
Read more and donate to the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Relief Fund »
International Rescue Committee (IRC): Following a devastating earthquake impacting Turkiye and Syria, thousands are at risk, warns the IRC
The two earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have left thousands of families without shelter in freezing temperatures.
Your gift will help us provide emergency services to families in Turkey and Syria and refugee families in countries around the world. Please give what you can today.
For a limited time, monthly donations will be doubled as we rush to support this crisis and all children and families in urgent need this winter.
Mercy Corps: Catastrophic earthquake strikes Syria
On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Northwest Syria, including Idlib, where Mercy Corps currently works. Our colleagues in Northwest Syria report that the situation is catastrophic, with the area affected by the earthquake being the center for over 1.8 million displaced Syrians who were already suffering after a decade of conflict.
Mercy Corps is responding to this crisis, rapidly assessing needs and providing emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene activities, working to deliver essential supplies to communities affected by the earthquake.
Read more and donate to Mercy Corps »
Microsoft
As soon as we learned about the earthquakes, Microsoft quickly partnered with our Middle East and Africa Area and Turkey leadership teams to stand up a central response disaster task force. They are actively coordinating with government and nonprofit agencies on the front line to assess where we can best assist. AFAD, the lead agency responsible for disaster and emergency management in Turkey, is receiving technical assistance from account teams, software and technical support from our disaster response teams, and imagery analysis support utilizing the damage assessment model on released imagery from Maxar and Planet Labs from our AI for Good Lab team.
NetHope: Rapid Response Fund
Approximately 5,000 people have been killed and thousands more injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria early on February 6. This is the region’s strongest earthquake in 100 years, with widespread and devastating effects. Frigid weather is likely to hamper rescue efforts.
NetHope has been monitoring the situation since the hour the earthquake occurred, and is touch with key counterparts, including UN OCHA’s Virtual OSOCC, UNDAC, ETC, RETS, and GISF. NetHope has 17 Members operating in Turkey and 29 Members operating in Syria. We are closely coordinating with our members, partners and contacts, and we are assessing sending a team to the affected area.
By contributing to the NetHope Rapid Response Fund, you can support our assessment mission and enable us to provide connectivity – a vital communications need that will aid relief efforts.
Donate to NetHope Rapid Response Fund »
Oxfam
Oxfam and our local partners in Türkiye (Turkey) and Syria are assessing and mobilizing humanitarian efforts to help those affected by the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the area on 6 February 2023. Thousands have died and the number keeps rising, while others are severely injured or remain trapped under rubble. Many are now homeless, forced to sleep in their cars or outside in the bitter winter cold.
Oxfam is preparing to provide protection, water and sanitation, shelter, and food support, and in the longer-term, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Right now, we are assessing the type of immediate and longer-term support that is needed. Together with local partner organisations, we will reach areas most affected, specifically southern Türkiye (Turkey) and north-west Syria.
Please rush a gift to help those impacted. With your help, Oxfam is ready to spring into action and help make sure that people who have lost everything have access to immediate, life-saving essentials.
Donate to the Oxfam Turkiye-Syria Earthquake Emergency Fund »
Save the Children: Deadly Earthquakes have struck Türkiye (Turkey) and Syria
In North West Syria, Save the Children is working to assess the scale of the damage and to provide support to children.
In Türkiye, Save the Children is working to assess needs and has established a response team to support the national emergency response across the region, in close coordination with the government and key stakeholders.
Save the Children’s teams on the ground are planning to support affected communities with winterization and emergency kits, including blankets and winter clothing.
Your donation to the Children’s Emergency Fund enables us to respond to crises around the world, whether from conflict, climate change or natural disaster.
Right now, children are missing out on the futures they deserve due to the effects of inequality and other issues such as the climate crisis, conflict and poverty. As a monthly donor, you can make a difference in their lives.
Read more and donate to Save the Children »
UNHCR: You Can Help Displaced Families Now
Two deadly earthquakes rocked Türkiye and Syria, killing and injuring thousands of people with tremors felt as far away as Lebanon. Türkiye hosts the world’s largest refugee population, including more than 3 million from Syria. Resources in the region are stretched incredibly thin. Families impacted by the earthquakes are already struggling through humanitarian crises made worse by severe winter storms, economic instability and war.
Read more and donate to UNHCR »
UNICEF: UNICEF teams providing emergency assistance to children and families in Syria
The initial focus of UNICEF’s emergency response is on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection services, nutrition and education.
UNICEF field office teams are assessing impact on main water stations and water storage facilities to determine the extent of damages and interruption in services, and providing emergency water access for displaced families.
UNICEF is also working to protect unaccompanied children and reunite those who have become separated from their families.
Read more and donate to UNICEF »
World Vision: 2023 Turkey and Syria earthquake: Facts, FAQs, and how to help
World Vision is working rapidly to assess potential impacts to already-displaced children and communities in the wake of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in the early hours of Monday morning, sending tremors across the region.
Our priority will include helping support affected people with access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), health, shelter, and protection. Our immediate response areas will cover Gaziantep and Sanliurfa in Turkey, as well as Azaz, Afrin, and Idlib in northern Syria.
We’re distributing fuel and heat to shelters as cold and sub-zero temperatures are of immediate concern. Initial assessments from our partners showed a critical need for fuel to restore heating and electricity to medical facilities and emergency shelters.