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Turkey-Syria Earthquake
CORE is working with our local partners to provide vital, emergency relief to communities most impacted by multiple devastating earthquakes that struck Southern Turkey.
Turkey
Emergency Relief | 2023-now
What damage has the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria caused?
On February 6, 2023, catastrophic 7.8- and 7.5–magnitude earthquakes caused widespread devastation across Southern Turkey and Northern Syria. “The level of destruction and devastation is shocking, and in many places, it is apocalyptic,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. Over 24 million people have been severely affected. Eleven provinces in Turkey have been impacted, leaving many reeling from unimaginable loss, injury, trauma, and displacement and in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
How is CORE helping support those impacted by the 2023 earthquake in Turkey?
CORE deployed within a week of the tragedy to monitor immediate needs across Southern Turkey and establish critical partnerships with local and regional partners, IhsanRD and MSYD. With operations spanning across Mersin, Gaziantep, Hatay, Islahiye, Kahramanmaraş, and Hassa, CORE and our dedicated partners have been working tirelessly to supply impacted communities in need with vital food kits, hygiene packages, cash card vouchers, kitchen sets and resource coordination support to maintain and scale emergency operations.
Who are CORE’s local partners providing relief in Turkey?
IhsanRD is a regional nonprofit that operates primarily in Northwest Syria and Southern Turkey. They rapidly increased operations within Turkey in response to the earthquake to meet the needs of Syrian refugees and at-risk communities that have been deeply impacted. CORE and IhsanRD partnered to distribute cash vouchers to earthquake survivors that fled to Mersin. The vouchers allow families to purchase critical relief items such as food, clothes, hygiene products, formula, diapers, and other essentials. Our joint emergency-relief efforts also include distributions of essential hygiene and Ready-To-Eat (RTE) food kits that include non-perishable items and traditional foods in the region.
MSYD is a local Turkish nonprofit that focused on supporting asylum-seekers and refugees in the country prior to the earthquake. With CORE support, MSYD is now providing critical earthquake emergency relief, targeting the severely devastated province of Hatay. MSYD runs a call-in center where internally displaced persons (IDPs) can request specific needs that staff then deliver directly from their Hatay warehouse. CORE is partnering with MSYD to support these immediate resource coordination efforts and distribute food kits, kitchen sets, and hygiene kits to tent communities where more formal government support is out of reach.
What are the ongoing needs of earthquake-affected communities in Turkey?
Recent UNOCHA figures indicate that over 3 million people have been displaced due to this ongoing tragedy — with multiple aftershocks continuing throughout the region. Nearly 2.3 million are living in temporary shelters and 1.6 million of these temporary shelters are considered informal. The lives of those who have lost loved ones, their livelihoods and any sense of security have been forever altered. Extreme cold posed an additional risk to those impacted since the earthquakes hit, and with summer’s heat quickly approaching, individuals without proper sanitation and drinking water are left vulnerable to disease and dehydration.
CORE has been on the ground since the early days of this tragedy, and we will continue to help those who have lost everything rebuild with your support. In the coming months, we are committed to continuing efforts to provide life-saving food, water, sanitation and hygiene support. We will also work to establish mid-term recovery projects in partnership with Turkish authorities and our incredible, local partners
Help empower communities in crisis.
CORE’s response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and crises across the globe are made possible by your generosity. Together, we can support those who need it most.