An earthquake with an initial magnitude of 7.8 devastated Gaziantep, Turkey this morning resulting in a rising death toll of 3,000 across Turkey and Syria.
Sara Kahn has the story.
That was the sound of first responders digging through the rubble after Kahramanmaras earthquake hit southern Turkey and Syria.
Monday morning, Turkey and Syria were devastated by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and at least 77 aftershocks that have killed more than 3,000 people. The effects have reached beyond Turkey and Syria, with USC students from these countries being affected by the devastation at home.
One of these students affected by the earthquakes is Emir Ceyani, a graduate student at Viterbi and the president of USC Turkish Graduate Student Association. While his own family was not affected directly by the earthquake, he has friends struggling to reach their loved ones.
Emir Ceyani: I am from Izmir. Turkey, which is the western region of Turkey. And fortunately, the earthquake didn’t affect my hometown. But I have lots of friends who live in the Sultan region of Turkey, and I am still trying to reach my friends and their families. If they could reach their families, some of them. And for some of them, they are good, but some of them they still couldn’t reach. I am trying to help to them as well, like to reshare their post, their tweets. And we are waiting still.
Creating a consciousness about this devastation is a key part of moving the affected areas forward. Freshman Altan Cermik, whose family is from East Sparta and Fethiye, believes in the power of raising awareness.
Altan Cermik: Awareness is probably the most important thing because...people don’t really know what Turkey, in that region particularly... looks like. It’s.... not like as developed as the rest of the country, which is, I think, the biggest issue about the earthquakes hitting that region in particular.
Amidst this tragedy, Ceyani pleads to USC to offer its support.
We want also USC to support us actually as, as they did in like previous events. That would be so great.
News is constantly coming from Turkey and Syria as casualties are calculated and damage is assessed. Those who want to donate can donate to organizations such as Unicef at unicef.org and Oxfam at give.oxfamamerica.org.
For Annenberg Media, I’m Sara Kahn
If you are interested in helping raise money to support those impacted by the earthquake MENASA, the Middle Eastern North African Student Assembly, is holding an event tomorrow between 1 and 4pm where they will sell Turkish and Syrian desserts. All the money collected will be donated. Keep an eye out for flyers that will be up soon.