Turkey and Syria Earthquake Appeal

icause is supporting several Australian charities to supply lifesaving aid to Turkey and Syria. You can help by starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the rescue and aid effort. 

On Monday 6th February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck 26 kilometers east of the city of Nurdaği, reducing buildings in southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria to rubble and costing countless lives. 9 hours later a 7.5 magnitude aftershock hit the Kahramanmaraş province, along with over 200 smaller aftershocks throughout the region.

The outcome is devastating. The death toll is currently over 33,000 and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it could double in the coming days, with tens of thousands of people still missing in ruins.

While rescue teams work tirelessly to find more survivors, hundreds of thousands are left homeless and facing below-zero temperatures in makeshift shelters as they wait for additional rescue crews and humanitarian workers to arrive. 

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There are stories of tragedy mixed with miracle rescue tales coming from the disaster zone. On Monday, a baby girl was rescued after 150 hours in the rubble, at the same time as a 10 year-old was found alive in the south-eastern Turkish province of Hatay. But as the days go on, the chances of finding survivors are dwindling.

It is estimated that over 6,000 buildings in Turkey collapsed following the quake, raising questions about how preventable the scale of the tragedy was. In some apartment buildings, entire communities have been lost, reduced to rubble.

Adding to the struggles of the rescue teams, unrest has broken out in certain regions, as survivors become increasingly frustrated by what they see as the government's poor response and lack of support for their areas.

Martin Griffiths, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, says that the people of Syria “rightly feel abandoned [and are] looking for international help that hasn’t arrived.” He also stated that we “have failed the people in north-west Syria.”

German rescuers and the Austrian army were forced to pause search efforts on Saturday due to clashes between unnamed groups and the situation is expected to worsen as food supplies start to run out.

The situation has been called “bleak beyond belief” by the UK development minister, with humanitarian workers adding that they desperately need both immediate and long-term international aid, for months or even years, long after the rescue missions end.

 

icause is proud to support the Australian rescue and aid efforts, but we need your help.

Survivors in the region are in desperate need of essential items to avoid the risk of hypothermia, malnutrition, and disease.

Aid charities need urgent funds to provide: 

  • Shelter
  • Blankets 
  • Mattresses
  • Baby clothes
  • Baby food
  • Hygiene kits
  • Clean drinking water
  • Thermal clothing 

Raise funds to save lives

You can help by starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the rescue and aid effort. Creating a campaign only takes a few minutes and is completely free.

You will be able to share your campaign with family and friends to raise lifesaving funds in support of Australian aid charities. 

We understand that many of you are struggling with the cost of living crisis, making it hard to donate. Use our Switch and Donate feature to support the earthquake appeal without spending a cent.

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Urgent help is needed

The rescue effort is unimaginable, with entire cities full of people displaced and left without the essentials they need to survive. Adding to the scale of the help required, about 3.6 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey following the Civil War and already rely on humanitarian aid. The population is suffering through a cholera outbreak caused by a lack of clean water as well as facing the harsh winter weather in the tents of their refugee camps.

icause is supporting several Australian charities to supply lifesaving aid to Turkey and Syria. Donate the funds from your icause campaign to one of these charities to make a difference.

If you need any support to set up your campaign, do not hesitate to contact us. Our passionate team of fundraising experts are ready to help.

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