A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Gaziantep of Southern Türkiye, bordering Syria, on 6 February 2023. Another powerful earthquake struck the same region in less than 12 hours. Hundreds of aftershocks have been recorded, causing additional infrastructure damage and raising fear and panic amongst the affected population. The earthquake is the strongest one recorded in Turkey for nearly a century. As of 9 February, over 14,000 deaths and more than 60,000 injuries have been recorded, and the figures are sadly expected to rise as the situation unfolds. The earthquake affected ten provinces of southern Türkiye and north-western Syria, and more than 20 million are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. In addition, thousands of collapsed buildings are reported, exposing many affected people to snowstorms, heavy rains and severe cold weather. As the rescue and relief efforts are at a critical stage, the HKRC calls "Türkiye-Syria Earthquake 2023 - Emergency Appeal" for  donations to support the people affected by the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria through our humanitarian actions.

The pre-disaster conditions in the affected area exacerbate the humanitarian situation. In Syria, the earthquake has caused additional suffering to millions of people who have endured decades of conflict and displacement, where access to food, fuel and medical services was already limited due to sanctions and inflation. Türkiye has been facing an economic downturn and rocketing inflation recently, and many households have struggled to meet their basic needs. In addition, there are over  3.6 million Syrian refugees in Türkiye, of which an estimated 1.8 million are affected in the area that was worst hit by the earthquake. The same population are being displaced again due to the earthquake. The most urgent needs are shelters, food, warm clothing, clean water, and heating supplies.

The earthquake also damaged infrastructure such as roads and bridges, hindering access to affected communities. Public services and the health system are overwhelmed. Currently, it is still difficult to assess the full extent of the damage. The road to recovery will be a long journey.