After the severe earthquake in Türkiye and Syria early Monday morning, the Turkish government has asked the international community for help. The quake had a magnitude of 7.8. According to reports so far, more than 600 people were killed in both countries. However, the numbers are rising rapidly and the damage to residential buildings and infrastructure is massive. Malteser International (MI), the International Relief Agency of the Order of Malta,  has sent an emergency relief team to the affected region.

“Our colleagues in Gaziantep and Kilis report on the massive destruction caused by the quake. Thankfully, our team is uninjured. An MI emergency response team has already been sent to the region. Our local partners are in urgent need of support, especially in the refugee affected areas in northern Syria, where hundreds of thousands of people live in simple shelters and are now unprotected. The temperatures in the region are freezing and it is raining heavily. The number of injured earthquake victims is increasing constantly in the hospitals of our partner organizations. We must provide aid quickly,” says Oliver Hochedez, Head of Malteser International’s Emergency Relief Department.

The emergency relief team coordinates first immediate measures and will then send urgently needed relief supplies to the people. Since 2012, Malteser International has been supporting health structures and water and sanitation in Syria through local partners and has supported Syrian refugees in Türkiye.

Donations to assist those imapcted by the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria  can be made to our Emergency Relief  Fund. Gifts $2 and more are tax deductible for Australian taxpayers.