Greater Good Charities (GGC) is mobilizing a response to help the families affected by the tragic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

On Monday, February 6th, 2023,  in the early morning, a once-in-a-century 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey (formally recognized as Türkiye by the U.S. State Department as of January 2023). A second quake, recorded at a 7.5, struck only 9 hours later. On February 20th, the region was hit with another earthquake of 6.4 magnitude in Antakya, where Greater Good Charities set up two distribution locations. As the next earthquake hit on February 27th with a 5.5 magnitude, the tremors toppled thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria, with a death toll over 50,000. In a region already struggling with a refugee crisis, countless more are displaced—forced onto the streets in the dead of winter and below-freezing temperatures. Turkey declared a three-month state of emergency for this unprecedented catastrophe and it will take years for communities to rebuild.

Beginning in February, Greater Good Charities' disaster response team set up locations to distribute meals and supplies in Hatay, including the cities of Antakya, Iskenderun, Samandag, and nearby villages.  While on the ground for 60 days, Greater Good Charities with the support from 70 volunteers provided more than 250,000 hot meals to thousands of earthquake victims, refugees, and rescue workers. We also provided pet food to families at the distribution locations and fed stray animals.  

Today, we continue to distribute humanitarian aid along with pet food for family pets and other animals impacted by the disaster through our partners on the ground in Antakya.