ISTANBUL, Turkey — James Zahora is an American journalist who’s been working in Turkey for about a decade.
The Chicago area native spoke with WMBD’s “The Greg and Dan Show” Tuesday morning about the devastation the country is experiencing following two deadly earthquakes hours apart Monday morning.
“The first responders are not people in ambulances, but people who drive taxi cabs. And, they’re the ones who are right now getting people out in a lot of places, because the scope of the disaster is overwhelming the rescue workers in the country,” Zahora says.
So far, over 5,000 deaths are confirmed in parts of Turkey and Syria, and thousands of buildings have been completely destroyed.
Zahora says aftershocks of Monday’s two earthquakes are triggering for a lot of people who’ve lived through other quakes.
“If you’re over the age of 30, you remember 1999, if you’re a grand parent, you remember the even bigger earthquake in 1939. And, we get hundreds of tremors across the country all the time…if you feel one, it puts you on edge…and this devastation, it’s emotionally wrecking,” Zahora says.
The death toll from Monday’s 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude quakes is expected to climb higher as rescuers make their way through the rubble.
