The following is a lightly edited version of a speech given by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres regarding the UN’s effort to provide assistance to Turkey and Syria. Both countries were hit by earthquakes on Monday, February 6.

The earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria are among the biggest natural disasters of our time.

On February 9, the first United Nations convoy crossed into northern Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing. It included six trucks carrying shelter and other desperately needed relief supplies. More help is on the way, but much more, much more is needed.

We have all seen the heart-rending images and the heroic efforts of humanitarians battling the elements, the clock, and the odds to save lives. We mourn the loss of so many – and the tragic toll keeps growing.

Thousands of buildings have collapsed. Tens of thousands of people are exposed to unforgiving winter conditions. Schools and hospitals have been destroyed. Children are enduring terrible trauma. And we are sadly aware that we haven’t yet seen the full extent of the damage and the humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes.

When I see the images, I see people and places I know well. This has long been a region of support for refugees and displaced people. As high commissioner for refugees, I travelled to the area many times. I will never forget those visits.

Turkey is home to the largest number of refugees in the world and has shown unparalleled generosity to its Syrian neighbours.

Indeed, up to 3.6 million Syrians have lived in Turkey for more than a decade. Many of them are now victims of the earthquake. I also have been to Aleppo and met Syrians who warmly welcomed Iraqi refugees fleeing violence and war, integrating them into their society. There were more than one million Iraqi refugees in Syria, and they were not in camps. They were received by the communities and integrated into community life with enormous generosity.

On my visits I was deeply moved by the solidarity of people who opened their homes and their hearts. Now those homes have been destroyed and those hearts are breaking.

A centre of solidarity has now become an epicentre of suffering.

People are facing nightmare on top of nightmare. The earthquake struck as the humanitarian crisis in north-west Syria was already worsening, with needs at their highest level since the conflict began.

The United Nations has done its best to race to respond. We are deploying disaster assessment experts; coordinating search and rescue teams; providing emergency relief, food, medical supplies, thermal blankets, and other life-saving items. And we are committed to doing much more. That is why I have asked Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths to travel to areas affected by the earthquake this weekend.

He is already in Turkey and will visit Gaziantep, Aleppo, and Damascus to assess needs and see how we can best step up our support. To provide this assistance we will need two things: first, we need access. Roads are damaged and people are dying. Now is the time to explore all possible avenues to get aid and personnel into all affected areas. We must put people first.

Second, we need resources. The humanitarian response — the Syria Humanitarian Fund and the Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund — need an urgent injection of support. They are the best options to enable the UN and its humanitarian partners to rapidly respond to people in need. We have released US$25 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund to jump-start the response. By early next week we will launch a flash appeal for donor support for those affected by the earthquakes in Syria.

As we speak, UN agencies, along with international and national non-governmental organisations, are working on the Syria response and assessing their initial funding requirements for the next three months. These resources will be used by the humanitarian community for critical aid: shelter, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene, education, protection, and psychosocial support services.

We are also ready to support the Turkish Government’s response in any way we can. In the face of this epic disaster I strongly appeal to the international community to show the people of Turkey and Syria the same kind of support and generosity with which they received, protected, and assisted millions of refugees and displaced people in an enormous show of solidarity.

Now is the hour to stand up for the people of Turkey and Syria.

Antonio Guterres is secretary general of the Unites Nations