The Middle East Crisis

The powerful earthquake’s epicenter was near Gaziantep, where millions of Syrian refugees live, just outside the regional capital.

The quake added more misery along the border, an area beset by the decades-long Syria conflict and refugee crisis.

Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, some 3.5 million Syrians, according to the UNHCR, which runs one of its most extensive operations from Gaziantep.

“While we were sleeping, the house started shaking. I immediately ran to my children; I did not know which one to carry."

"I could not reach the door, the distance was very far, and a minute of time was like years of helplessness and fear,” said a World Vision staff member in northern Syria.

"The fear continues with the aftershocks. Most of the people are on the streets in the snow and rain, with many destroyed buildings, many victims, and many still trapped under the rubble.”

You can help World Vision continue responding to disasters like this earthquake around the world.

• Please give today to help people suffering from the 2023 Turkey and Syria earthquake.
• Pray: Join us in praying for World Vision staff and responders as they continue to support families through this disaster. Almighty Father, we ask for Your mercy on people hardest hit by this disaster. During these frantic hours, please guide the search and rescue teams with Your protection and courage. Comfort the families that have lost loved ones, and keep children and adults warm as the bitterness of winter is now heaped upon this catastrophe. Give them patience, peace, and hope that they will emerge from this disaster and livelihoods will be restored.

World Vision is working rapidly to assess potential impacts to already-displaced children and communities in the wake of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in the early hours of Monday morning, sending tremors across the region.

Our priority will include helping support affected people with access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), health, shelter, and protection. Our immediate response areas will cover Gaziantep and Sanliurfa in Turkey, as well as Azaz, Afrin, and Idlib in northern Syria.

We’re distributing fuel and heat to shelters as cold and sub-zero temperatures are of immediate concern. Initial assessments from our partners showed a critical need for fuel to restore heating and electricity to medical facilities and emergency shelters.

“In the middle of a harsh winter, already incredibly vulnerable children and families have now been shaken to their core by this devastating earthquake, which is likely to affect thousands in northern Syria and southern Türkiye,” said Johan Mooij, Response Director for World Vision’s Syria Crisis Response in Amman, Jordan. “We will do everything we can to help those who were affected.”

World Vision has been working in the Middle East region for nearly 40 years. We’re dedicated to improving the lives of children, families, and the communities where they live through long-term sustainable development as well as responding to disasters — both natural and man-made.

World Vision quickly came alongside Syrian families who fled to Lebanon in 2011. Since then, our work has expanded to other countries hosting Syrian refugees and into Syria. Children and their long-term needs are always our first priority.

World Vision provides aid to children and families in Syria, Jordan, and Turkey, all of which have suffered from the conflict and resulting humanitarian crisis. Since the Syrian refugee crisis began, we’ve helped more than 7.5 million children and their families in the region.