Turkey earthquake: Hampshire firms donate profits to aid effort

Serdar Ak, known to his customers as AK is donating profits from his Southampton barbers to the aid effort

Members of the Turkish business community in Hampshire are coming together to donate profits to the earthquake relief effort.

From barbers to taxi drivers and restaurant owners, the Turkish diaspora across the county is discussing how to help those in need.

AK Grooming Room in Southampton is just one of the businesses donating profits.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said a new disaster could be facing the survivors of Monday's earthquakes.

"It's a second disaster looming unless we act very, very fast, meaning shelter, food, water, and medicine because it's freezing cold," Dr Hans Kluge, WHO's regional director for Europe, told the BBC.

Barber Serdar Ak, known to his customer as AK, flew back to Southampton from Turkey on Friday.

His home in Kahramanmaras was badly damaged and many people in his extended family have died.

"We had numbers of 20 there missing, passed away, and we've got three more missing that we can't get in touch with - the phones are off. It doesn't feel real, it's shocking," he said.

For the next few days all the profits from the family-run business will be sent to help the relief effort.

"It's snowing there, it's cold, they're outside in tents. There's kids, ladies, struggling. Whatever we can do to help them, that's what we're doing. It's quite important to us."

Many people in the home town of Hassan and Fatma Aziz, near Gaziantep, died in the earthquake

The Aziz family runs the Uni Kebab Turkish restaurant, also in Southampton.

Grandparents Hassan and Fatma arrived for a visit a week ago - their home is a farm near Gaziantep, an area which has been devastated by the earthquake.

"Just from our home town 40 people have passed away, most houses are knocked down, family from next town, too many people have passed away," Hassan Aziz said through a family member.

They told the BBC the extended family were now sheltering outside in tents; their homes destroyed or too unsafe to return to.

Emma Gezer said: "They are too scared to go back in because there was over 40 more smaller earthquakes so they kept feeling it, nobody wants to go back in."

Grocery owner Mehmet Yentur said the Turkish community had been trying to gather information from the earthquake zone

In Portsmouth, members of the Turkish community came together on Thursday to discuss what they could do to help.

Grocery owner Mehmet Yentur told the BBC "no-one's been sleeping properly" since the earthquake hit.

"We've been on our phones, watching the news, videos, speaking to family, calling everyone, wherever we know anyone, just trying to get as much information as we can."

Since Monday's earthquakes donations have been pouring in to help those survivors left homeless.