Carrollton woman finds out she lost family in earthquake that struck Turkey: 'You feel useless, you feel like you can't do anything'
CARROLLTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – We're learning that at least 12,000 people have died after an earthquake hit Turkey and Syria earlier this week. CBS 11 sat down with a Carrollton woman who found out at least three of her family members in Turkey died in the rubble.
Nusin Van Winkle was born and raised in Antakya, Turkey. So when she heard the news that her hometown was destroyed by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, she was devastated.
"I started to try to reach out to my family members," said Van Winkle. "I was trying to reach them to see if they were safe if their houses were affected and from there it started spiraling down we started getting even worse news."
She found out some of her relatives were trapped in the rubble.
"My uncle, my father's brother with all his family, they were trapped under the building that collapsed," said Van Winkle.
Her cousin Ozlem, who was buried under the rubble was able to text people to let them know she was alive. Thousands of miles away here in Texas, Nusin used social media, and her network as a medical doctor to contact anyone in Turkey who could help.
"They located her," said Van Winkle."And they told her wave her hand so we got that video and we started sharing," said Van Winkle.
But when she was finally brought out of the rubble it was too late.
"I saw the message from my sister saying Ozlem is rescued and I called her and they said they rescued her but by the time she came out her heart stopped so she didn't make it," said said.
At least three of her relatives have died. She uses every free moment to stay in contact with family in Turkey, searching for information about other relatives that are still missing. She says It's difficult being so far from home.
"You feel useless, you feel like you can't do anything and you want to be there," said Van Winkle. "I'm a medical doctor, I could be useful if I was there but I couldn't, it's so far away."
She hopes by sharing her family's tragedy, she will encourage other North Texans to donate to rescue and relief efforts working on the ground to help survivors.
"No one person can do by themselves much, but if we all come together as a solidarity and show our compassion and generosity to them big or small whatever we can do."
The Turkish American Association of Northern Texas has created a list of organizations where you can send donations to help support recovery efforts:
AKUT - Search and Rescue Association
AFAD - Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency
They are also collecting donations of clothing and other needed supplies. Find more information about drop off locations and the items they are collecting here.