Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah, supervisor-general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief), said, “As a first phase, we’ll build more than 3,000 temporary buildings fitted with all basic utilities in Turkey and Syria”.

“The scale of the catastrophe is very large. Tens of thousands need sheltering”, Al Rabeah told Al Ekhbariyah TV. “There is a need to continue providing assistance to the quake victims for weeks, if not for months, because of the large scale of the tragedy”.

An continued Saudi aid mission has reached Turkey and northern Syria, including Aleppo, which is under the government control.

For the first time in 12 years, two Saudi planes delivering emergency supplies landed in Aleppo on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the aid workers.

“Contacts are maintained with the Syrian Red Crescent to determine priorities and provide assistance in Aleppo”, Dr. Al-Rabeah said.

Following the earthquake, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Mohammad commanded an airlift and a public fundraising drive to aid the victims.

KSRelief is in charge of the Sahem platform, where donations have so far totaled over SR361.8 million.