Two appeals have been launched in Guernsey to help the victims of the earthquake which has devastated large areas of south eastern Turkey and north west Syria.

The Bailiff's Disaster Relief Fund will collect money locally for the national organisation, the Disasters Emergency Committee, which will allocate the funds to charities working on the ground.

Bailiff Richard McMahon says while people can donate to individual charities, he wanted to set up a fund to help those affected by a 'devastating humanitarian crisis on a significant scale.' 

"I believe that it is appropriate to pool donations from those who prefer to use this Fund so that all the monies raised can be passed to the DEC to assist those people in Turkey and Syria who so desperately need our help.

We know that any donation, however small, will be well-received through the DEC’s partner charities and will be put to good use.”

Donations can be made as follows:

• By bank transfer: Bank: NatWest Bank, Guernsey Sort Code 60-09-20 Account Number 70956421 Reference: Bailiff’s Disaster Relief Fund Turkey-Syria Appeal

• In person at the bank counter: Any branch of NatWest in the Bailiwick for the account of Bailiff’s Disaster Relief Fund Turkey-Syria Appeal, number 70956421

• By post: Cheques may be made payable to Bailiff’s Disaster Relief Fund Turkey-Syria Appeal and sent to The Bailiff’s Chambers, Royal Court House, St. Peter Port, GY1 2NZ

Meanwhile, Humanitarian Aid Guernsey, which was begun in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has set up a just giving page specifically for victims of the Turkish quake:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/turkeyquakeappeal

A spokesperson for the charity says the scale of the disaster meant they had to help:

"We are continuing to support Ukraine in these hard times, but it’s evident that Turkey needs immediate aid now as well."

"There is a small community of Turkish people on the island, and each of them is affected by the earthquake."