The government will give £2m to the British Red Cross and make another £3m available for charities and other bodies involved in relief efforts in Nepal, following an earthquake which killed more than 3,600 people.

The Disasters Emergency Committee has launched an appeal and has said its member agencies and their partners are "working urgently to provide emergency shelter, food, clean water and blankets".

Its DEC Nepal Earthquake Appeal is to launch on the BBC, ITV Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky on Tuesday, but a donation line and website has already opened.

The Department for International Development said that in addition to the Red Cross money, £3m has been released through its Rapid Response Facility - a network of pre-approved specialist aid organisations, including both charities and private businesses, who can rapidly deliver emergency medical, water and sanitation assistance to those affected.

International development secretary Justine Greening said: “As the death toll rises and the scale of this devastating earthquake becomes evident, the UK is continuing to do everything it can to help all those affected by this tragedy.

“I have now activated the Rapid Response Facility. This means we can fast track funding to aid workers on the ground so they can provide desperately needed supplies including clean water, shelter, household items and blankets.”

Several charities have also started their own appeals following the 7.9 magnitude earthquake which struck Nepal on Saturday and caused an avalanche on Mount Everest.

Save the Children has said it is making an initial allocation of £300,000 from its Children’s Emergency Fund to immediately scale up its Nepal earthquake relief effort.

Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children, said: "Thousands of children have been injured, left without homes and are now struggling to find many basics of life, including safe water. We already have teams on the ground helping children and their families.

“We are particularly concerned about the situation in some of the most affected districts outside the Kathmandu Valley. We are sending assessment teams to support our teams in these areas.”

Oxfam, World Vision, TearFund and ActionAid are all running fundraising campaigns to help those affected. Cafod has pledged an immediate £50,000 to help its partner Caritas Nepal with emergency relief.