Locals with family in Turkey, Syria scramble to contact loved ones after earthquake kills thousands

ATLANTA — More than 7,000 people have been confirmed dead in an earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria Monday morning,

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New video Tuesday showed children being pulled from the rubble during ongoing rescue operations. But the devastation is everywhere, and the temperatures are plummeting, raising fears that people who survived the initial crash could freeze to death waiting to be rescued.

Channel 2′s Audrey Washington spoke to an Atlanta, man who worked for hours to try to figure out if his family in the region survived.

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Ahmad Alzoukani’s family lives in Syria.

“It was so bad, it was a terrible day for me,” Alzoukani said. “It’s just so difficult to keep waiting to hear what’s going on there.”

Alzoukani said that after the initial 7.8 magnitude quake hit, he got on the phone and started calling his family, but it was nearly impossible to get through.

“I tried to reach out to my parents, because they live in different cities,” Alzoukani said. “I couldn’t get any information or hear anything about them.”

Finally, after more than 11 hours, Alzoukani said he reached his family in Syria and learned that they all survived.

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Alzoukani said his heart breaks for people dealing with unimaginable loss and destruction.

“I can not think what will be next for them, because if they lose their home or any of their spouses...” Alzoukani said. “They survived the civil war and just when everything cooled down, the earthquake came.”

Alzoukani said he is now working to get water, medicine and other supplies to Turkey and Syria.

If you would like to help earthquake victims, you can donate to Atlanta-based nonprofit Care.org.

Turkey earthquake: Death toll rises as crews race to find survivors (WFTV)

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