Unanswered screams from earthquake survivors in Turkey

We traveled to a 10-story structure in Adana that had entirely fallen at morning in the freezing weather. In their path to the wreckage, I came across two women who were covered in blankets.

Ummu Bayraktar and Nazife Batmaz are lodging at the Turkish city’s mosque, which has evolved into the focal point of the relief efforts following Monday’s earthquake.

The adjoining home they owned was severely damaged. As they search for their companion, a cousin of Ummu, we stroll and chat.

We are advised not to walk too close to another building by a companion. He claims that it is cracked and adds, “They all have to come down.”

Six rescue workers are throwing debris their way with gloved hands and drills as we pass two diggers operating on the edge of the collapse zone.

We then turn down a side street, where I spot some survivors staying warm by a fire while sitting on plastic chairs.

survivors in the streets while rescue efforts are hampered by rain
The earthquake was extremely dangerous, why?
In the bitter cold, the two women search for their companion Nurten, who is being cuddled by a blanket. She sits while sobbing.

Senay, her grown daughter, was on the second level of the fallen structure. Nurten has been waiting here day and night without receiving any updates.

“How can I lie down in a cozy bed when my kid is lying in the cold?” she queries.

“Oh God, my daughter never loved the cold. She is underground. My chest is pounding “She sobs.

The crump of the digger and the drills are audible. Her friends offer consolation to Nurten. Her daughter is the mother of two girls who are both presently studying overseas. They are attempting to return to Turkey.

“What will I say to the girls? They will arrive here today. What should I say to them? They had given me custody of their mother, “said Nurten.

The search for survivors is taking longer than the sense of loss is spreading.