'A mass murder of nature': Awaiting word from friends and relatives in Turkey after earthquake
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The disaster is unfolding in Turkey and Syria where at least 3,400 people are dead across the region following Monday's powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
Chicago organizations are rushing to help those on the ground affected by the earthquake. As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported Monday, donations from here in Chicago will be sent through Turkish Airlines. The earthquake relief program coming together in less than 12 hours after this disaster.
The consulate in Chicago and the Turkish American Cultural Center and the Turkish American Society of Chicago are quickly organizing to get supplies to southern Turkey.
It's a country that's no stranger to earthquakes, but this time it's hitting a region that's facing bitter cold as families are left homeless Hundreds still believed to be trapped under the rubble as daylight reveals the sheer scale of this disaster.
"There are so many people waiting for help," said Kadir Karakus of the Antepli Turkish Gourmet. Karakus is from the eastern region of Van, Turkey.
He said work at his Albany Park restaurant is a welcome distraction as he waits for updates from friends who live where the earthquake hit.
"Some of them they left their houses. but they don't have a place to stay and it's freezing," Karakus said. "Everybody who speaks Turkish has been asking me 'is your family okay?' I say it's not only my family. It's a bunch of people."
So far, everyone is reportedly safe but he expects the death toll to rise.
"I'm extremely nervous and very, very concerned."
From Istanbul, Viladan Gorener, president of Chicago's Turkish American Cultural Alliance is now organizing relief efforts was coincidentally in Turkey when the earthquake hit, but 600 miles north of the disaster zone.
"People are homeless. It's cold and snowy. It's a very bad coincidence," Gorener said, adding that she too is waiting to hear from those who live in the southeast region.
"I have two friends who live in one of the cities that we weren't able to reach out to them yet," Gorener said.
She's trying to organize relief efforts back home in Chicago, to help these Turkish towns now torn to pieces.
"It's like a mass murder of nature. You cant really do much about it," Gorener said.
Both Karakus and Gorener have survived earthquakes in turkey. Karakus in 2011 in his hometown and Gorener in 1999 when an earthquake that killed almost 18,000 people.
The Turkish American Society is organizing relief efforts and listing ways you can help. The Turkish American Cultural Alliance is accepting donations in the coming days. People can drop off blankets, hygiene products, first aid needs and monetary donations at their location: 3845 North Harlem Avenue.
The Turkish Consulate General in Chicago is sending the following items to the Turkish Embassy and Turkish consulates across the United States. These are the most needed items:
*Blankets
*Tents
*Sleeping bags
*Pocket warmers
*Winter clothing (jackets, gloves, headgear)
*Over-the-counter medications for flu, cold and pain killers
