Apple will donate to relief efforts following devastating Turkey and Syria earthquakes

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CEO Tim Cook says Apple will be donating.

Apple cutout outside Apple Store
(Image credit: Future)

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the iPhone maker will be donating to the relief and recovery efforts being made after devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

The earthquakes took place on Monday, February 6 and at the time of writing there are more than 2,600 people confirmed to have died.

Rescue operations continue across southern Turkey and northern Syria, according to reports.

Thoughts and condolences

Following the news of the earthquakes Cook turned to Twitter to say that Apple was sending "thoughts and condolences to the people of Turkey, Syria, and anyone affected by the devastating earthquakes." Cool also confirmed that "Apple will be donating to relief and recovery efforts."

The BBC reports that "the 7.8 magnitude quake struck near Gaziantep in the early hours of Monday while people were asleep," with a "new 7.5-magnitude tremor hit at around 13:30 local time." It's also said that millions of people across Turkey, Syria, Cyprus, Israel, and Lebanon felt the quake such was its ferocity.

With more than 2,600 people having died the BBC reports that more than 9,700 people were wounded in Syria alone. According to the AFP news agency, a further 2,000+ were also injured in Syria.

Apple isn't alone in promising to help. World leaders have pledged to send aid with Turkey having issued an "international appeal for help."

Photos and videos of the aftermath of the earthquakes show complete devastation and two countries continuing the search for more survivors among those who remain missing. Support centers have also reportedly been set up to help those who have been displaced as a result of the earthquakes.

"A national mourning period has been declared for seven days. Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, 12 February 2023, in all our national and foreign representative offices," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said via Twitter.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.