A year after the worst earthquake in a century

On Monday 6th February 2023, two enormous earthquakes struck the regions of South East Türkiye (Turkey) and North West Syria. Over 51,000 people tragically lost their lives and many more sustained life-changing injuries.

The earthquakes caused widespread destruction to infrastructure across the regions. It left long-standing damage that communities are still striving to rebuild from.

In Türkiye, the disaster impacted approximately 30 million people. In Syria, 10.9 million. Now, one year later, survivors are still reeling from the catastrophe.

Islamic Relief’s response

At Islamic Relief, we dedicate ourselves to serving communities in need worldwide, even in the hardest-to-reach places. This includes providing an ongoing relief response to vulnerable families long after the initial aftermath of a crisis.

Islamic Relief was among the first organisations on the ground in Türkiye and Syria. Because of your generous support, our teams were able to respond rapidly. We were able to deliver immediate aid to the people whose lives had just been destroyed. During and beyond the crisis, we distributed vital medical care, food, clean water, shelter and more to thousands of people.

The impact of your donations

Thanks to your support, our teams have now moved into the second phase of our response to the Türkiye-Syria disaster, which is focused on rebuilding the lives of those affected.

We have been building secure and permanent homes that are earthquake-resistant for families in Syria. Our teams are also providing physiotherapy, rehabilitation and prosthetic limb treatment to affected individuals, ensuring they receive the help needed to support their recovery.

With widespread damage to what little infrastructure the region already had, access to safe, clean water for communities remains a major priority in order to prevent the spread of life-threatening diseases and dehydration. Islamic Relief is supplying clean water facilities and distributing hygiene kits to communities in Aleppo, Syria.

In Turkiye, our teams have kick-started similar interventions to reconstruct schools, expand its orphan sponsorship programme and support families to build reliable livelihoods.

Find out more about the impact of your donations in our feedback report.