London
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Companies around the world are racing to help victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria by donating food, medicine, services and cash.
Amazon ( AMZN ) has prepared donations of relief items, including food, baby food, blankets, tents and medicine, with the first shipment leaving its warehouse in Istanbul on Wednesday, the U.S. retail giant said. Told on Monday. Supplies are heading to affected areas in Turkey.
“This quick delivery is just the beginning of Amazon’s response,” Abby Diaz, head of Amazon’s disaster relief program, said in a statement. Diaz noted that the company will work to identify on-the-ground needs and use its logistics and delivery network to meet them.
Deutsche Telekom (DTEGF) said in an announcement on Tuesday that it has made all calls and text messages from Germany to Turkey and Syria free until February 15. Germany is home to the largest Turkish population in the world. The country also hosts the world’s third-largest refugee population, half of whom are from Syria, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
Deutsche Telekom is also donating €1 million ($1.1 million) to a German coalition of 23 aid groups.
Chobani’s Turknejad CEO is also giving money. A US-based donor organization has said that Hamdi Alukaya has donated $1 million to an earthquake relief fund set up by Turkish Philanthropy Funds.
Alukaya tweeted on Tuesday:[O]Your brothers and sisters in #Turkey and the region desperately need our help. Please donate to @tphilanthropy earthquake relief and recovery efforts. I have pledged $1m and will match up to $1m in additional donations to help those affected by this disaster.
More cash has been donated by two of the UK’s biggest store chains.
Tesco ( TSCDF ) and Marks & Spencer have jointly contributed £150,000 ($181,500) to an earthquake appeal by the Sun newspaper, it reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper said it was donating all funds from the appeal to the British Red Cross. The aid organization is working to help people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Another company that could help is Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
On Monday, Musk responded to a tweet about SpaceX’s Starlink internet service, saying: “Hey @elonmusk A massive earthquake has hit Turkey and neighboring countries. Severe communication shortages are occurring. Any chance you could help with your Starlink satellites? Billionaire Answered: “Starlink has not yet been approved by the Turkish government. SpaceX can launch with approval.”
In war-torn Ukraine, Starlink has been a vital communications tool for the country’s military. Musk has continued to fund the service even though, according to a tweet from him in October, it is “losing money.”
More than 9,500 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria since Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake, officials said.
Rescue operations are underway to evacuate the citizens trapped under the collapsed buildings amid freezing weather conditions. Aid agencies are particularly concerned about victims in northwestern Syria, where more than 4 million people are already dependent on humanitarian aid.
— Anna Cobin, Jesse Greitner and Sugam Pokharal Cooperation reporting.
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