BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — More than 45,000 people have died as a result of the earthquakes and aftershocks in the Middle East affecting Turkey and Syria. One Bakersfield resident, Sherry Jones, has family in Turkey, and she shared her experience and reaction.
"It's heartbreaking," said Jones. "It's heartbreaking, especially to know that children are gone. To know that my kids' cousins are not there anymore."
Jones is still learning about her loved ones, telling 23ABC that more of her family was recovered just Friday. When the earthquakes hit the region earlier this month, Jones and her ex-husband's family experienced how quickly things can change forever.
"It makes you hold your kids a little tighter and know that we're not promised tomorrow. You have to live every day like it's your last," said Jones.
When Jones stops to think about how many people she's lost, the list gets too long very fast.
"Mervin's mother, his youngest sister, another sister, along with her husband and three children, and a brother and wife and their two children," counts Jones. "And just earlier today, the brother, his wife, and two children were recovered."
Research Professor of Civil Engineering at the California Institute of Technology Monica Kohler says that for the lives impacted around the world by the Turkey/Syria earthquakes, recovery will not be a quick process.
"I think we are going to see lingering effects from the earthquake for probably months and months and years, as we've seen from media coverage of the events," said Kohler. "The images, the videos, the drone flyovers. We saw the collapse of a lot of buildings from those earthquakes, both the main shock and the aftershocks."
According to Jones and her surviving family members, those quakes have left thousands of families with nothing.
"Several of the family members that did survive the earthquake, they're left with nothing. Their buildings were demolished by the earthquake, are uninhabitable," said Jones. "So, clothing, all the items that we use on a daily basis, they don't have at this time."
Jones says that throughout Antakya, the city in southern Turkey where the family is, many people are now homeless or living out of their cars. While her family still has one home standing, living is difficult.
"There's approximately 30 people living in a 2-bedroom, 1-bath house right now," said Jones. "So they have a place to go. They don't have to live in their cars, but that's quite difficult having that many people in such a small space."
Kohler says that despite this happening on the other side of the world, it's a reminder that something just like it can easily happen here in California.
"We don't know when or exactly where the next earthquake will happen. We just know that we've seen them in the past and it's been a long time since we had the last large-magnitude earthquake in southern California," said Kohler. "So in a sense, we are kind of overdue, so we do need to be prepared."
Jones agrees, adding that it's important to understand that people in Turkey are just like us.
"Be prepared. You never know when someone is gonna be gone, so make sure you tell people you love them," said Jones.
Jones says her ex-husband is now in Turkey, and many there have been critical of that government's disaster response efforts. She says that while she is not there, she is still doing what she can to help. She gave us an email address, Slj8765@gmail.com, where people can contact her if they would like to help her family and friends in Turkey.
Those who would like to help can also visit the Doctors Without Borders website to donate to their relief efforts, as well as the American Red Cross. Charity Navigator has also published a list of vetted charities dedicated to helping not just Turkey and Syria, but victims of disasters around the world, so you can know your donation is really going to help people who need it.
