In early February, a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the Türkiye-Syria border. It was followed by a 7.7-magnitude quake hours later, and thousands of aftershocks in the weeks and months that followed.
The disaster had a devastating impact on both countries. More than 50,000 people were killed in Türkiye, while 8,400 lost their lives in Syria. Families lost homes and loved ones in an instant and many still do not have a permanent shelter.
More than a decade of crisis has significantly impacted Syria’s capacity to deal with a disaster on this scale. While in Türkiye clean-up operations stretched on for months.
Cities left unrecognisable
In Türkiye, more than 107,000 people were injured across 11 of the country’s 17 provinces. The cities of Hatay and Gaziantep were left barely recognisable, with more than 85,000 buildings destroyed.
Syria’s northwest was hardest hit. The affected area is home to thousands of people already displaced by conflict, some of whom have had to move yet again.
Demand for shelter was so high that new temporary camps became overcrowded almost immediately, and waterborne diseases spread quickly.
Those who lost their homes in Türkiye and Syria also faced cold winter temperatures, making displacement all the more challenging.
Cross-border support
Islamic Relief was on the ground from the day the earthquake struck, providing food packs, vouchers, blankets and hygiene kits, eventually helping to meet the immediate needs of over 1 million people across Türkiye and Syria.
Our teams in northwest Syria provided hospitals with urgent medical supplies, as well as mattresses, blankets, bread, fuel, tents and plastic sheeting. We distributed menstrual products to women and girls, as well as nutritious milk and diapers for infants.
Islamic Relief staff helped to clear rubble from blocked roads, allowing aid to reach people in need. We also supplied clean water to villages to prevent further outbreaks of waterborne disease.
Visiting affected areas in Türkiye in the aftermath of the quakes, our CEO Waseem Ahmad reiterated that relief efforts must also support long-term solutions. In Syria, years of crisis had already left millions of people without homes, and struggling hospitals strained to cope with earthquake casualties. Waseem re-committed Islamic Relief to supporting communities in both countries to recover from this disaster, and build brighter futures.
Throughout the rest of 2023 and beyond, we continued supporting those affected. We have built more than 50 homes and contributed to teachers’ salaries in Syria. In Türkiye, Islamic Relief has reconstructed schools and launched livelihoods programmes to support families. We also expanded our orphan sponsorship programme, supporting even more vulnerable households in both countries.