ISTANBUL

Two donation campaigns in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have collected $7.9 million for the victims of the Feb. 6 earthquake disaster in Türkiye and Syria.

A relief campaign launched in the UAE by Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al-Qasimi, the wife of the Sharjah ruler, collected 15.6 million dirhams ($4.2 million) for the quake victims in the first three hours of its launch, the state news agency WAM reported.

More than $3.7 million were also raised as part of a donation campaign in Bahrain for the quake victims in the two countries, according to the state news agency BNA.

The campaign was organized by the Bahraini Royal Humanitarian Foundation and the Bahrain TV.

More than 16 Arab countries announced providing aid materials and relief airlifts to quake-hit Türkiye and Syria along with dozens of public donation campaigns across the Arab world.

At least 40,642 people were killed and over 108,000 others injured in two powerful earthquakes that rocked southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa and Elazig.

In Syria, at least 5,840 people were killed in the earthquake disaster.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar