“Every building was shaking, people were shouting for their lost children and I saw so many people under the rubble”
Islamic Relief is launching a $24 million global appeal to provide urgent aid in Syria and Türkiye after today’s deadly earthquakes.
Islamic Relief aid workers on the ground witnessed the horror first-hand, seeing people trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings and children separated from their families in the chaos. At least 1,600 people are reported killed so far and the death toll is rising by the hour. Homes, hospitals, schools, mosques and other infrastructure have all been flattened by the two 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes – the worst to hit Türkiye in 20 years and the worst to affect Syria for over a century.
In northwest Syria we will be providing urgent medical supplies to help hospitals and clinics that are overwhelmed by casualties, as well as blankets and tents for people who are now homeless in the middle of a freezing winter. In southeast Türkiye we will provide cash vouchers to survivors so they can meet their immediate needs such as buying food.
Affected communities in northwest Syria are especially vulnerable as years of violence and humanitarian crisis has destroyed vital infrastructure and left millions of people in extreme poverty.
Mohammed Hamza, head of Islamic Relief’s office in Idlib, northwest Syria, witnessed the destruction first-hand:
“It was 4am and I woke up to the house shaking from side to side. Everything was shaking, bricks were falling out. It felt like Judgement Day and everything would be completely destroyed. My wife was screaming and I went to my children but I didn’t know what we could do. We fled outside and saw thousands of people on the streets with just the clothes on their backs. People were shouting for their lost children – whole families were separated and lost.
“So many buildings were totally destroyed and I saw tens of people under the rubble, with crowds trying to pull them out. People are still out in the streets – they don’t have anything to go home to and we are all scared of aftershocks.
“Right now the Islamic Relief team here is distributing blankets, sheets and mattresses that we have in stock – but these will run out today and we need more as soon as possible. People urgently need tents, food parcels and blankets. Hospitals are inundated with injured people so we’re providing them with medicine and other supplies.”
