Turkey earthquake: Yorkshire communities rally round for victims

More than 11,000 people were killed when the earthquake struck early on Monday morning

Members of the Syrian and Turkish communities in Yorkshire have spoken of their horror as family and friends were caught up in the deadly earthquakes.

One man whose relatives were forced to flee their home in Turkey said they described it as "like Doomsday".

Many have lost contact with loved ones as communication systems were damaged.

Local groups have launched aid missions, raising money and gathering clothes and other supplies to send to those affected.

Yasin Mikyas, who runs a cafe in Shipley, West Yorkshire, said his customers had been donating money to help.

He said his home city of Batman, in the south east of Turkey, was badly hit.

"The people there are suffering a lot, especially my family," he said.

"They have to stay outside with the kids and they don't get really much help and it's really cold. They've got nowhere to go."

Yasin Mikyas (L) runs a cafe in Shipley with Gurcan Gurduz

As well as coping with thick snow, the city is still being rocked by aftershocks.

"It's still going on, they're still not safe. It's just shock after shock," he added.

The death toll in Turkey and Syria stands at more than 11,000 and is expected to rise further in the days ahead.

York barber Ali Kala said it was difficult to keep in contact with some of his family.

He said they lived close to the epicentre of the first quake near the Turkish city of Gaziantep and their house was completely destroyed.

"Everywhere is closed," he said.

"Can't contact anybody, no electric, no gas, they lost everything."

York barber Ali Kala said it was difficult keeping in contact with his family

Seismologists said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time on Monday in the south east of the country close to the Syrian border.

The first quake was one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey. Survivors said it took two minutes for the shaking to stop.

About 12 hours later, a second powerful tremor hit further north with a magnitude of 7.5, and its epicentre was in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province.

In Hull, the Turkish community has rallied round to support the people caught up in the devastation.

Emine Kaya from the Hull Turkish Education Society said that, within hours of the news breaking, people had arrived at the centre with donations of supplies, including clothing and blankets.

"So many ladies came up last night, they helped to put it in the boxes, put them out, write notes," she said.

"We Turkish people do care about each other a lot."

Emine Kaya said she had experienced a previous earthquake in Turkey

Ms Kaya said she had experienced a previous earthquake which badly damaged buildings in her home town.

"I know how it feels, I know what they're feeling now," she said.

"It's cold, the snow. You're lost, you don't know what to do."

Firas Miro, who sits as a Liberal Democrat councillor in Rotherham, said the area in Syria most badly affected by the earthquake had already suffered under the decade-long civil war.

Mr Miro, who was born in Syria, said the situation in the north of the country was "already dire".

"People have already have problems with collapsed buildings, families buried under the rubble during the war when there was some bombardment of cities," he said.

"Obviously now the problem is on a much bigger scale and it was all very sudden as well."

He said earth-moving was desperately needed to help find survivors in destroyed buildings.

"What is really heartbreaking is that the relatives who have managed to get out of houses can hear their relatives under the rubble begging for help."

People forced from their homes by the quake are sheltering in tents in freezing conditions

Dr Ahmed Khaleel, chair of the York City of Sanctuary charity, said his family in Turkey had a lucky escape when the earthquake hit early on Monday morning.

"They were all awake when it happened, so they managed to leave the house very quickly and take the car and go outside," he said.

"Then buildings started to collapse."

He said that his relatives were now housed in tents in woods outside the city.

"They describe it as like Doomsday," he said.

"In a matter of minutes, just seconds, everything happened. Life turned into death and safety turned into horror."