What you can do to help victims of the Turkey and Syria earthquake

The death toll from the earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria has risen to more than 11,000 – becoming the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.

Hopes of finding survivors trapped in the rubble are fading and more than 30,000 people have been injured, with many others losing their homes and livelihoods.

The scale of destruction from the 7.8 magnitude quake that struck on Monday and its powerful aftershocks was so immense and so widespread – including in areas isolated by Syria’s ongoing civil war – that many people are still waiting for help.

Some of the many places devastated by the disaster include Gaziantep and Diyarbakir in Turkey and Aleppo in Syria – but it was felt as far as Cairo.

So where can you donate? Here are the charities working to help those affected.

The Red Cross

Active in the region, The Turkish Red Crescent – or Türk Kızılay – is working alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (both part of the International Red Cross charity) to provide support to earthquake victims. They are helping to evacuate residents and provide basic essentials like hot food, water, tents and blankets to those who have lost their homes. They’re also dispatching blood stocks to hospitals treating injured patients and deploying ambulances.

You can donate to the appeal here (donate.redcross.org.uk).

The charity are putting teams on the ground to help provide shelter, water and warm clothing for kids as temperatures drop.

You can donate to the Children’s Emergency Fund here (support.savethechildren.org).

Oxfam is working with partner organisations to ‘assess the types of immediate and longer-term support that are needed to help people’ in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

“People are still in shock and fear, they don’t even have time to mourn the lost ones,” said Meryem Aslan, from Oxfam, in a statement.

“It is a double tragedy for survivors having to cope too with the cold and who will be unable to sleep outside. It is horrifying to contemplate how people will even be able to cope, given that some areas are even now in snow.”

You can donate to support the people of Turkey and Syria now and in the future here (oxfam.org.uk).

The official disaster management authority in the country, AFAD is taking donations directly into governmental accounts in order to support the relief effort.

You can donate directly here (en.afad.gov.tr).

AKUT Turkey

This NGO is a Turkish search and rescue organisation on the ground. An entirely voluntary group, they try to rescue anyone who needs aid in natural disasters or other nature-related accidents.

Formed by a two mountaineers in 1994, it now has more than 2,000 volunteers. They have no political affiliation and you can donate to the cause here (akut.org.tr).

Hospitals in the region are overwhelmed and some have been destroyed and volunteer medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) are providing ambulances, equipment and doctors in the region.

You can donate to support them here (donate.doctorswithoutborders.org). 

AHBAP

NGO AHBAP is a cooperative group of philanthropists in Turkey who provide food, shelter and medical supplies to those in need.

You can support the efforts with the earthquake here (ahbap.org).

Look out for local organisations collecting items

Brilliant UK-based groups like the West London Turkish Volunteers are taking donations of warm clothing in areas all around the UK.

Make sure to check what they need specifically and also look at local Facebook groups or council websites to see where your nearest organisation may be