On Monday 6 February at 4:17am local time, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey (officially known as Türkiye) near the city of Gaziantep, devastating parts of Türkiye and Syria. It was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks. On the same day, at 13:24 local time, a second earthquake (M7.5) hit the Elbistan district around 80 miles north of Gaziantep.

So far, its been reported that over 45,000 people have died as a result of the earthquakes, with many thousands more injured.

Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) and Syrian Arab Red Crescent emergency responders have been working tirelessly since day one to help people affected by the earthquakes, providing first aid and essentials like food, water, blankets and shelter. Their teams were already rooted in the local communities, and are providing unique access to the hardest hit areas.