Turkey Earthquake Emergency em

The initial 7.8m earthquake struck southern Türkiye (formerly Turkey), close to the northern Syria border.

The epicentre was about 20 miles from Gaziantep – a major city and provincial capital .

5,700 aftershocks have been reported, including a strong 6.7m earthquake minutes after the first earthquake . A third struck the same region hours later as the rescue effort was well underway.

The first devastating earthquake struck southern Türkiye (formerly Turkey) at 4:17am local time (1:17am GMT)  on 6 February 2023. 

A powerful aftershock of 6.7 magnitude hit just minutes after the first earthquake .

On Monday 20 February 2023, another 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit the same region at 8:04pm local time (5:04pm GMT). It was followed three minutes later by a 5.8m aftershock.

This region is one of the world’s most active seismic zones and earthquakes are frequently reported.

The 7.4m Izmir earthquake in 1999 killed over 17,000 people. Officials have repeatedly warned of such events.

The death toll in Türkiye (formerly Turkey) and Syria is over 50,000, and rising every day.

More than 66,000 buildings have collapsed or been damaged and over 100,000 people have been injured. The need is vast and growing. People are homeless and out in the open in the middle of freezing winter conditions.

Before the earthquakes, 4.1 million people in Northwest Syria were in need of humanitarian assistance – mostly women and children. They have faced the destruction of war and have now been hit again by these events.

“Getting support into Northwest Syria is very difficult at the moment. The already limited supply routes are now damaged, and the political situation is complex. The people in the affected regions will be exhausted following years of conflict. We have extensive experience in supporting people in these areas with distributions of winter aid having recently been completed, but more will be needed.”

– Alice Jefferson, Head of Emergency Response for ShelterBox

There are several ways you can help people affected by disasters like the earthquakes in Türkiye (formerly Turkey) and Syria.

1. Donate to a charity like ShelterBox

2. Raise awareness on social media or by talking about the disaster with your friends and family

3. Stand with people who have lost their homes in Türkiye, Syria and beyond. Learn about some of the world’s hidden crises and share it with your network.

Read more about how you can support families caught up in the crisis here.

When giving to ShelterBox you are contributing to a general donation fund.

Your support today will contribute to our Türkiye and Syria Earthquakes response as part of our General Fund. We believe that the best way for us to be impactful is by staying flexible, and it is essential that we have funds available to support those affected by disasters around the world.