SEATTLE — A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria Monday, causing devastation for hundreds of miles and killing thousands, with the death toll still rising. In response, organizations are working to help thousands of miles away in Seattle.
Rita Zawaideh has been making phone calls nonstop as she's tried to contact her friends and family in the area.
“There are a lot of them that I’m trying to reach but phone lines are down so you can’t reach through to them,” said Zawaideh.
Zawaideh says her cousin, Hiyam, is staying in a car like many others.
“Everyone ran out of their houses, and they don’t have the winter clothing to wear, the shoes and they’re all afraid to go back in with the aftershocks,” said Zawaideh.
“We can still do something, we believe. We started thinking of those and we started to coordinate,” said Tufan Erdinc.
Erdinc, the president of the Turkish American Cultural Association of Washington (TACAWA), has family in Turkey. His organization is working with the Turkish Consulate to get help to the region.
“We are going to collect as much as we can and we are going to send it via embassy,” said Erdinc.
He directed everyone who wants to help to the TACAWA website.
The Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., offered another option for people looking to donate:
Those willing to send in-kind assistance to people in need in Turkey can send the following items to the Turkish Embassy and Turkish Consulates across the U.S. by mail or through in-person drop-off:
- Blankets
- Tents
- Sleeping bags
- Pocket warmers
- Winter clothing (jackets, gloves, headgear)
- Over-the-counter medication for flu, cold and pain killers
Anyone donating should place their items in clear bags and include an itemized list of the bag's contents.
The donations will be sent to via Turkish Airlines to the country in a "speedy manner."
Turkey’s president declared a Level 4 alarm, which means the country will accept international aid. Aid organizations say that is abnormal for a country like Turkey.
“The reason is the earthquake was so big and the impact was so wide, a lot of cities are impacted with this,” said Erdinc.
Along with TACAWA, Zawaideh is trying to send donations through her organization SCM Medical Missions.
“We're working out logistics right now of how to get doctors in, who we can go with, how far we can go and talk to some of the teams on the ground to see what's needed."