TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation said the first batch of earthquake relief supplies arrived in Turkey at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday (Feb. 12) Turkish time, in a UDN report.
Emergency relief supplies will be immediately handed over to local government officials for distribution. Future shipments continue to be planned as there are still a large number of supplies that need to be sorted and packed for delivery to disaster-stricken areas as soon as possible.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the southern part of Turkey, an area bordering Syria, in the early hours of Feb. 6, causing severe casualties and widespread destruction. The area is currently experiencing winter, with cold nighttime temperatures posing a threat to many in the area who now find themselves homeless.
The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation said an initial shipment of 1,358 boxes, contained a total of 8,148 disaster relief blankets made from recycled PET bottles. The blankets arrived at Turkey’s Adana Airport on Sunday morning and will be delivered to those in disaster areas.
The Tzu Chi Neihu Park was packed on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11), preparing the first batch of relief supplies donated by Taiwanese to earthquake survivors in Turkey. Donations totaled more than 150 metric tons, requiring coordination with the military, which provided vehicles to assist in the delivery of supplies.
Tzu Chi said the relief supplies it collected were sorted by volunteers who worked around the clock to ensure that all supplies are well sorted, and could be shipped as soon as possible to those in need in Syria and Turkey.
Supplies can be donated to Turkey earthquake survivors till Wednesday. (Tzu Chi Facebook photo)
Taiwan’s representative office in Turkey has entrusted the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation to collect relief supplies for earthquake survivors. According to Tzu Chi’s Facebook page, volunteers interested in helping sort donated items are still needed. Interested parties should visit Tzu Chi Neihu Park located at No. 168, Chengkung Rd., Sec. 5, Neihu, daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Wednesday (Feb. 15).
