Dubai’s ruler directs $13 million in Syrian aid after deadly earthquake

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Ruler of Dubai, has ordered $13.6 million (Dh50 million) in humanitarian aid to Syrian people affected by the powerful, 7.8 magnitude earthquake which rocked wide swaths of Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday, killing thousands across the two countries.

The humanitarian aid will provide “relief to those affected by the most devastating earthquake that the country has witnessed in decades,” state news agency WAM reported Monday.

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The aid will be delivered in the form of ration parcels through the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives to the most affected groups in Syria.

The death toll in Turkey from a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake rose to 2,921, the country’s relief agency AFAD announced Tuesday.

The new count brings the confirmed death toll in Turkey and neighboring Syria to 4,365, after a quake considered to be the strongest to hit the region in nearly a century.

The earthquake rocked large parts of Turkey and neighboring Syria in the pre-dawn hours of Monday.

Residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside in the rain and snow to escape falling debris, while those who were trapped cried for help. Major aftershocks, including one nearly as strong as the initial quake, continued to rattle the region.

The quake was centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, and was felt as far away as Cairo in Egypt. Hours later, a second 7.5 magnitude jolt, which was possibly an aftershock, struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away from the epicenter of the earthquake and caused more destruction.

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