Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Wales raises £1.2m in first day of aid appeal

Wales has raised £1.2 million in the first day of an aid appeal for the Turkey-Syria earthquake as the death toll passes 20,000.

The appeal is being run by a collection of aid charities and was launched yesterday by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

The total from Wales so far includes a donation of £300,000 from the Welsh Government.

The funds will provide urgent relief for people affected after earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria in the early hours of Monday morning.

21,000 people have died and the death toll is expected to rise further.

Refuge

7 million people were in the affected areas and many have been left without shelter, food or clean water in freezing winter conditions.

According to the Turkish government, 380,000 people have sought refuge in government shelters or hotels.

Wales’s £1.2m aid donation has joined the UK pot which so far stands at £32.9 million.

British Red Cross, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam Cymru, Save the Children and Tearfund are leading on the work to raise the money for the appeal in Wales.

Saleh Saeed, Chief Executive of the DEC, said: “The stories we are now hearing from the survivors who have managed to escape the ruins of flattened and crumpled buildings without shoes and coats in the depths of winter are desperately sad.

“It is hard to grasp what they and their families are going through. But what we do know is that help is already being delivered by 14 of our member charities using funds donated to the DEC. They are providing hot meals, blankets, and medical aid.

Deeply sad

On Thursday the DEC and its member charities stood on the steps of the Senedd to launch the urgent appeal for aid.

The Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt said: “This is a deeply sad and devastating event, and my condolences are with those who have lost loved ones.

“My thoughts are also with the injured as well as Turkish and Syrian people in Wales waiting apprehensively for news.

“I’m grateful to people from all across Wales who are already offering all manner of support.”