As the death toll from Monday’s massive earthquake near the border separating Turkiye and Syria exceeds 5,200, Windsor’s Muslim community is collecting donations to help survivors.
The Windsor Islamic Association has launched an online campaign with a goal of $50,000.
As of Tuesday morning, it had already collected over $28,000.
The association said the money will be spent in the hardest-hit areas.
“Rescue workers and residents in multiple cities searched for survivors, working through tangles of metal and giant piles of concrete. A hospital in Turkey collapsed and patients, including newborns, were evacuated from a handful of facilities in Syria,” read the description of the local campaign.
Children rescued from rubble in Syria after earthquakehttps://t.co/Poz14CMYqS pic.twitter.com/daCuwX0LD1
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 7, 2023
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck before dawn Monday morning toppling thousands of buildings on both sides of the border. Since then, there have been more than 100 aftershocks, one with a magnitude of 7.5, according to multiple media reports.
According to CNN, more than 25,000 people were hurt, and it is feared hundreds of victims are still buried under the rubble.
Rescuers are in a race against time, but the BBC reports efforts are hampered by rain, snow, and freezing temperatures in the region.
Rescuers struggled to dig people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings in a 'race against time' as the death toll from an earthquake across a wide area of Turkiye and Syria passed 5,000.
The 7.8 magnitude quake was the deadliest in Turkey since 1999 https://t.co/DfUltmOjAW pic.twitter.com/rdVc06fhfA
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 7, 2023
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Global News Canada stands ready to help.
The Canadian Red Cross has also launched an online donation campaign to help with rescue efforts. Donors can also call 1-800-418-1111.
