Amid rising humanitarian needs, the Red Cross on Thursday tripled its emergency funding appeal for victims of the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria last week.
The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said it now estimated it would need 650 million Swiss francs ($702 million) to help respond to the soaring humanitarian needs in both countries.
Just over a week ago, the organization had estimated its funding needs at 200 million francs.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck nine hours apart in southeastern Türkiye, and severely hit northern Syria, on Feb. 6, razing thousands of buildings and inflicting a severe damage on infrastructure.
Türkiye's death toll from the disaster was revised to 36,187 on Thursday. The U.N. has reported a death toll of about 6,000 for all of Syria.
"The full impact of this earthquake is still unfolding," IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain, who is currently visiting quake-hit communities in the two countries, said in a statement.
"The situation on the ground is rapidly changing, and needs are growing by the minute," he said, pointing out that "for survivors, these are some of the hardest moments of their lives and the road to recovery will be long."
IFRC said that the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) had been "working round the clock to support affected communities, even though many staff and volunteers have also lost homes and loved ones."
The most urgent immediate needs were currently providing shelter, health care and sanitation, as well as food and water, it said.
"People are also facing major distress – early access to mental health and psychosocial support is critical," Chapagain said.
The Turkish Red Crescent had deployed more than 5,000 staff and volunteers, who had, among other things, distributed more than 31 million hot meals to people outdoors and in emergency shelters.
In Syria, some 4,000 volunteers and staff had been sent to the hardest-hit areas, reaching 365,000 people with life-saving support.
In the longer term, IFRC stressed that global support and solidarity to deliver humanitarian assistance would be needed for months and years ahead.
