Overview

The Australian Government extends its deepest condolences to all those affected by the devastating earthquakes and aftershocks in Türkiye, Syria, and the region.

On Monday 6 February an earthquake with a 7.8 magnitude struck at 0417hrs local time near the Turkish city of Gaziantep. The earthquake also heavily impacted north-west Syria, a region where 4.1 million people were already dependent on humanitarian assistance. The majority are women and children. At 1324hrs local time and on the same day, a second earthquake, also magnitude 7.8, occurred at Elbistan, Kahramanmaras in Türkiye, around 80km north of the first earthquake. The earthquakes have been followed by more than 2,000 aftershocks.

The earthquakes have caused devastating loss of life, injury and destruction of buildings and infrastructure. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless in the middle of winter. Over a million people are in temporary shelter with at least 900,000 people urgently in need of food in both countries.

Australia’s response

The Australian Government has committed $18 million in humanitarian assistance for those affected by the earthquakes in both Türkiye and North-west Syria.

In Türkiye, our $11.5 million includes:

• $4 million to Red Cross and Red Crescent partners, for the delivery of food and items such as tents and blankets to support those injured and evacuated; and
• $2 million to Australian NGOs through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership to deliver urgent assistance, with a focus on protection (could include shelter, food, health and protection services)
• deployment of a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)
•  the remaining funds will support ongoing search and rescue efforts and other emerging needs arising from this crisis.

In Syria, Australia has provided $3 million through the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), to help meet immediate needs including for access to clean water and sanitation, with a focus on women and girls, and a further $3.5 million to the United Nations Population Fund to deliver maternal and child health service and protect women and girls without safe housing.

Australian-supported humanitarian partners are also responding.

• Australia’s flexible annual funding to major international humanitarian partners including UNHCR, the World Food Programme and the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) has helped partners rapidly allocate resources to the earthquake response.
• The UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), to which Australia contributes annually, kick-started the UN response with a USD 25 million disbursement within a day of the earthquakes.
• The International Federation of the Red Cross’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund, funded by Australia and other donors, released funds to Turkish and Syrian Red Crescent national societies within a day.

Follow @AusHumanitarian on Twitter for more information about Australia's humanitarian response.

How Australians can help

The most effective way Australians can help is to give a cash donation to one of the many Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) appealing for support.

Unfortunately, managing donations of goods often increases the burden on local relief authorities and creates costs for affected countries in transport, warehousing and distribution.

For more information on how to donate responsibly, please visit Emergency Aid - ACFID.

More information

• Smartraveller | Türkiye Travel Advice & Safety
• @AusHumanitarian on Twitter
• @AusAmbTurkiye
• Emergency Action Alliance page for Turkey, Syria Earthquake • Emergency Action Alliance

Media releases

• Additional humanitarian assistance to Türkiye and Syria | Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, 15 February 2023
• Disaster Assistance Response Team for Türkiye | Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, 8 February 2023
• Humanitarian assistance in response to earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria | Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, 7 February 2023
• Press Conference - Canberra | Prime Minister of Australia, 7 February 2023

Images

More available from Disaster Assistance Response Team for Türkiye - DFAT Media Library.