Amazing response from the UK public

An incredible £101.5m has been raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Turkey and Syria earthquake appeal.

The huge sum has been raised in a matter of weeks following the appeal's launch on 9 February.

Some as £5m of this total is matched by the UK government.

The DEC is a coalition bringing together 15 of the biggest UK charities including Cafod, the British Red Cross and Age International and only responds to large humanitarian disasters.

Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have killed more than 44,000 people, injured more than 100,000 and displaced hundreds of thousands of families.

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC, said: “The UK public have once again excelled and supported people when they need it most. All of us at the DEC are incredibly grateful.

“With a third earthquake, people are terrified all over again. They are scared of being in their own homes if they remain standing, and are worried about being unable to provide for their families with no job to go to.

“Your donations are already helping and will continue to provide emergency shelter, warm blankets and food for the families who have lost their homes, urgent medical support for the injured and psychosocial support to children to help them start to cope with their experiences.

“DEC charities continue to rapidly assess the ever-changing situation, but they urgently need your support to help scale up their response as the situation unfolds and humanitarian needs continue to grow.”