More than £13million has been raised in Scotland to help those affected by two devastating earthquakes in Turkey and north-west Syria.

On February 6 of this year a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale, the biggest since 1939, struck with an epicenter near to Gaziantep.

Nine hours later a second quake, almost as powerful, was recorded with the two seismic events leaving tens of thousands of people dead.

At least 58,000 people lost their lives with many more left homeless in freezing winter weather.

Since then those displaced have faced flash floods and, more recently, the baking summer temperatures which have affected Southern Europe and the Middle East.

The Disasters Emergency Committee, a UK-based organisation which brings  together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently in the wake of such events launched an appeal which it says has now become the third-largest in its history.

The Herald: Zeynep, whose home was destroyed in the earthquake and has received cash payments from British Red Cross to help meet her families basic needs, is picutured during a visit from the DECZeynep, whose home was destroyed in the earthquake and has received cash payments from British Red Cross to help meet her families basic needs, is picutured during a visit from the DEC (Image: Özge Sebzeci/DEC)

Six months on from the disaster, donations from Scotland have exceeded £13m, with more than £150 million now raised across the UK.

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee, returned this week from visiting DEC-funded projects in Gaziantep where he met people affected by the earthquakes.

They included Zeynep and Mehmet, whose farmhouse was destroyed in the earthquake and have received supermarket vouchers to help buy food and other essentials from DEC charity British Red Cross.

Across both countries, over the first three months following the earthquake, almost half (46%) of aid expenditure went on providing cash payments to more than 40,000 of the families most in need. 

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Making direct payments via cash or vouchers is a very efficient way of delivering aid when local markets are functioning, reducing transport and administration costs and allowing people to choose how best to meet their personal needs - for example on food, medicine or rent.

Mr Saeed said: “It was humbling to meet Zeynep and Mehmet and hear how they and their seven children had been trapped under the rubble. Thankfully they all survived, although Zeynep couldn’t walk for a month or so and the trauma they are suffering is evident. The whole family is living in a tent while they wait for their new home to be built and the conditions are very harsh.  When I visited last week, it was uncomfortably hot, about 41C, but when the earthquake struck the temperatures were freezing.

The Herald: Semir, aged 57, a Syrian refugee in Kahramanmaraş outside his tent home with his grandsons Burak* (l) and Huseyin* (r)Semir, aged 57, a Syrian refugee in Kahramanmaraş outside his tent home with his grandsons Burak* (l) and Huseyin* (r) (Image: Özge Sebzeci/DEC)

“DEC charities are working tirelessly to help people cope and make life more comfortable. From mobile physiotherapy clinics helping people recover from their injuries to psychological support for children, to providing hygiene and sanitation to avoid the spread of deadly diseases - this is vital, life-changing help.  

“Your donations over the last six months have been remarkably generous and are helping DEC charities continue to address the people’s most pressing needs, on both sides of the border.

"It’s clear that it will be a very long road to recovery from this terrible disaster, but we met so many people in Türkiye who wanted us to thank the British public and all who have supported them through the DEC. Thank you to everyone who has donated, we are all incredibly grateful.”

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The appeal received a £500,000 donation from the Scottish Government, on top of the £1m the DEC receives through the Humanitarian Emergency Fund.

The money was distributed to the British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Save The Children and Tearfund.

Through UK Aid Match, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Department has matched UK donations pound-for-pound up £5 million, doubling the value of the public’s own donations to that level.

The DEC said that in the six months since the disaster, 40,300 households received cash or voucher payments to help meet their basic needs.

In addition 427,000 people havve been provided with access to safe drinking water, 201,000 have received emergency food or a voucher for food and 48,200 people accessed health services such as mobile clinics, medical kits, and free medication.

Syria is currently in its 12th year of civil war, with 60% of people in the region affected by the earthquakes already being displaced, many of them living in extreme hardship. 

Using donations to the appeal, DEC charities and their local partners are delivering vital aid in both government and non-government-controlled areas of Syria, ensuring people have enough to eat, clean water to drink and safe places to stay.

You can donate online by clicking here, by calling 0370 60 60 610, texting SUPPORT to 70787 to donate £10 or you can donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office or send a cheque by post to: DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal, PO Box 999, London EC3A 3AA.