Donate to our Turkey and Syria Earthquake Appeal

The Independent is asking for help in raising urgently needed funds after the deadliest earthquake to hit Turkey and Syria in nearly a century.

More than 20,000 people have died and hundreds of thousands have been injured and left homeless after large areas of the country were devastated.

A lack of equipment and experience to reach those still trapped has hampered rescue efforts in Turkey, while the situation in Syria has been complicated by the conflict that has destroyed its infrastructure.

With nowhere else to go, many people were forced to camp out in the open in makeshift shelters or in their cars, desperate for food, water and warmth.

The World Health Organization has warned that with widespread hunger, few ways to escape the bitter cold and the risk of further aftershocks, many survivors are still at risk of losing their lives.

Robert Holden, WHO incident response manager, said: “We are in real danger of seeing a secondary disaster that could harm more people than the initial disaster if we don’t move at the same pace and intensity as we are doing on the side. search and rescue”.

The Independent is asking readers to help by donating generously to help those in desperate need.

All funds raised will go towards the Disaster Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal, which brings together the UK’s leading charities to help with search efforts and provide vital medicine, clean water and temporary accommodation.

The 14 charities under the DEC include the British Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children and Islamic Relief.

The UK government says it will match public donations of up to £5 million, and British rescuers are among those urgently helping in the search for survivors.

Oben Coban, who works in Turkey for Save the Children, described the quake as Europe’s worst in a century, estimating it affected 2 million children.

Please give what you can by clicking the button below.