The Maldives Red Crescent (MRC) has also opened up a relief fund in order to assist the victims affected by the earthquake. With this, citizens of the Maldives will also be able to donate in order to contribute to the cause.
Source: Al-Arabiya
On 6th February 2023, Turkey was hit with the deadliest the region has faced in centuries. This 7.8 magnitude earthquake was followed by a second earthquake of 7.5 magnitudes just nine hours later, causing unimaginable damage to both Turkey and Syria.
In addition to the sheer magnitude of these two earthquakes, due to the timing, many were unprepared and unaware of the disaster that was about to come. Hitting the region at 04:17 in the morning local time, the earthquake caught most people off guard as they were fast asleep, leading to thousands of people being caught under the rubbles of their own homes.
While the initial death toll when the news broke out stood at over 7,000, the death toll is still expected to rise as rescue teams are still desperately searching under the rubble for any sign of life. The situation is reported to be extremely tough as many buildings have ‘pancaked’, making it extremely hard to carry out the rescue operation and saves lives. With the time on saving more lives running low due to the extremely cold weather and hours passing by without food and water, rescue teams have been working tirelessly in hopes of finding more survivors.
With more than 125 aftershocks being recorded so far since the earthquake hit, the rescue efforts have been an extreme challenge, putting the rescuers themselves at risk. As this earthquake hit near the Turkish - Syrian boarders, the situation has been called an ‘emergency on top of an emergency’ as the affected areas of Syria hold a high number of displaced people who escaped war and conflict.
“Women and children will find themselves, particularly at risk of exploitation and abuse should they find themselves once again displaced, many in northwest Syria have been displaced up to 20 times and with health, facilities strained beyond capacity–even before this tragedy–many did not have access to the health care they critically need.”
With this humanitarian crisis already being neglected and underfunded by countries around the globe, another crisis has struck this region, and the call for help has become extremely evident as thousands are yet again displaced.
What help is being provided
While the first responders were definitely the citizens of the country who are still working tirelessly to help their fellow neighbours, local first responders from Syria, Turkey and Lebanon are also playing a major part in rescuing lives and helping the injured get to safety. Additionally, European Union has offered their assistance by providing mobilizing urban search and rescue teams while countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have sent personnel and aid to assist with the ongoing crisis.
How can we help?
The International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) issued an appeal for USD 217 million in order to assist those who have been affected by the earthquake. Following this appeal, the Maldives Red Crescent (MRC) has also opened up a relief fund in order to assist the victims affected by the earthquake. With this, citizens of the Maldives will also be able to donate in order to contribute to the cause.
In the press statement released by MRC along with the opening of their relief fund, the organisation stated that donations will be open from February 7th till February 14th and donations can be made both in MVR as well as USD. Additionally, the organisation is also accepting donations from both the Bank of Maldives (BML) as well as Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB), making it easier for a larger number of people to donate and help the victims of the earthquake.
