In March 2022, almost immediately following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), through rescEU, together with MSB – the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency established reserve stock of RHUs for the emergency in Ukraine, and subsequent emergency needs in the European region.

When the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated large parts of Türkiye, particularly in the South East, DG ECHO allocated 500 RHUs from its rescEU stock to the affected regions in Türkiye. The RHUs functioned as temporary shelters, with the capacity to host up to 25,000 vulnerable people. Additionally, the RHUs were installed as day centres, or “heating points”, as places where protection and other essential services are provided, where electricity is available for people to charge their phones and access heating, and as child-friendly spaces.