Turkey-Syria Earthquake 2023

It’s hard for many of us to imagine the devastation from these earthquakes. Even harder in places impacted by ongoing conflict. But earthquake survivors are facing this as well as freezing weather and the cost of living crisis – with rising fuel and food prices. A fragile situation has been made even worse.

This calls on us, and those in power, to urgently stand with people fighting for the basics. People need food, water, shelter, and medical care without delay.

In Türkiye, Oxfam KEDV are leading our response. They have worked with both refugee and Turkish communities for years and will be reaching those worst-affected by this disaster. The Oxfam team in Syria are working with partners like Syrian Society for Social Development. In Aleppo, they’re working with partners in readiness to respond to people’s needs now, and in the coming weeks and months.

In the early hours of 6 February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Türkiye (Turkey) and Syria, followed by another earthquake soon afterwards. Many thousands of people have been killed. Survivors who have been forced to flee their homes are now facing freezing temperatures.

These are the worst earthquakes to strike Türkiye (Turkey) in nearly 100 years. They have devastated a region where large refugee communities were living in tough conditions. The severe and continuous shocks from the earthquakes have reached cities in Syria like Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Idlib where the humanitarian need is at its highest since brutal conflict began 12 years ago.

Infrastructure is heavily damaged, and we know that means people will struggle to find safe shelter, water and food especially in places impacted by ongoing conflict. There’s been huge loss of life, thousands injured, and many more still buried in the debris. The harsh weather and damaged roads make rescue efforts challenging. And in Syria, a cholera outbreak that began last year could quickly get further out of control. There’s no time to waste.

A new earthquake, two weeks after the first, has caused further physical damage and psychological trauma.

The epicentre was in one of Oxfam-KEDV’s working areas. We have heard from colleagues in the area that buildings that were in precarious positions before this most recent earthquake have collapsed. People have been killed, likely more than the official reported numbers.

Hospitals were evacuated as a precaution against a possible tsunami, which, thankfully, did not occur.

Oxfam-KEDV partners and cooperatives continue to provide items to meet people's basic needs, and focus on those who are in more immediate need in the areas affected by the most recent earthquake and aftershocks. So far...

• Essential items including blankets, food kits, stoves, hygiene items and power banks have been distributed to affected families.
• Basic facilities such as toilets and showers for families living in temporary accommodation have been installed.
• Oxfam-KEDV’s network of women’s cooperatives across affected areas are preparing hot meals for their communities with food and cooking equipment with our support.
• Preparations are underway to fix a large water storage reservoir which serves a temporary accommodation centre for up to 30,000 people.

Social inequalities show up starkly in disasters, with the most marginalised worst hit. The earthquakes will have deepened risks already facing women, children, older people, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities and people with refugee status – those often unseen, unheard, and most excluded from society.

And it’s the voices of communities affected which are too often ignored when dealing with a crisis. They know best about what’s needed – from survival to recovery, to speaking out against underlying causes that makes them so vulnerable when disaster strikes.

Oxfam KEDV and Oxfam in Syria have been working on gender inequality for years. With KEDV rooted in women’s movements, and the team in Syria having a strong gender justice team, this experience and focus is a vital part of our response.

Oxfam is a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

For every £1 you donate to this emergency appeal, we will allocate 9p of your donation to cover general support and running costs. There is a small chance that we will raise more money than is needed for this appeal. If this happens, we'll spend any additional funds on other Oxfam projects – wherever the need is greatest.