Tragic toll of quake

It has beenone month since two earthquakes struck inTurkey and

Syria killing over 50,000 peopleandinjuring 100,000.

The first, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, struck in the early hours of February 6 near the city ofGaziantep, followedhours later by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that hit around80 miles away in theElbistan district.

Further earthquakes occurred on February 20and February 27.

The 20 February earthquake was 6.4 in magnitude.

The earthquakes are estimated to have directly impacted 26 million peopleacross Turkey andSyria.

Due to its location on theAnatolianplate, earthquakes are not a rare occurrence in Turkey.

However, the first earthquake was the worst thecountry has experienced since a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Marmara back in

August 1999.

The February6 earthquakes would have been felt by most ofEnglandandWales and parts of southern

Scotland. cont Asithe nues, relief thereare effort said to currently be 3,000 peoplein temporary shelter andafurther 380,000 in schools and education facilities.

Extensivedamage has been reported in Turkey, withbuildings collapsingin cities including Adana, Adiyaman,Diyarbakir, Gaziantep,Hatay, Kahramanmaras,Kilis, Matalya,Osmaniyeand

Sanliurfa.

In Syria, thereare reports ofcollapsed buildings in theAleppo,

Idlib, Lattakia, and Hammagovernorates, andextensivedamage in rural Damascus.

Emergency funds were set up in the aftermath of the earthquakes with charities working to provide urgent assistance.

The Red Cross is working on theground to help those affected. Donatebyvisiting donate.redcross.org. uk/appeal/ turkey-syriaearthquake-appeal.

Donate tothe

Disaster Emergency Committeeappeal by visitingdonation.dec. org.uk/ turkey-syriaearthquake-appeal