A woman living in Dublin has started a fundraiser to assist her family in the aftermath of the devastating Turkish earthquake.
The devastation caused by the earthquake last week forced Gizem Galioglu's parents and triplet siblings, aged 21, to flee their home city. The earthquake destroyed nearly 70 per cent of the buildings in Antakya and has claimed at least 40,000 lives, according to the most recent death toll.
Gizem says that her parents were unable to sleep on the night that the natural disaster took place. The tremors began at around 4am and were so powerful that built-in furniture began to fly around the room.
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She told Dublin Live: ".They weren’t sure which side of the room would be safe to go to as furniture was flying everywhere. My sister is in a different room and her wardrobe ended up over her desk. Luckily she was able to leave the room without it collapsing on herself."
The exterior of the home was also left in tatters following the tremors. The family waited until the earthquake had ended before departing the completely destroyed city and are currently residing in a hotel in Muğla, far away from their hometown.
The family were luckily left uninjured following the ordeal, but Gizem remains concerned for her father's well-being. Mr Galioglu has diabetes and suffers from high blood pressure, making the family concerned about the earthquake's impact on his overall health.
She said: "I was expecting the worst news when I first heard about the earthquake because of my father's health. He has had two heart attacks in the past, in much more normal situations. I am almost sure that the stress and grief over losing people he knows will be a long lasting problem for him."
Gizem decided to launch a GoFundMe to assist her family and have an emergency fund in place for her father's healthcare. It is extremely unlikely that her family will rebuild their home in Antakya, as the city remains without electricity and running water.
She added: "Officials have announced how much help they are going to give, but the amount doesn't look too promising at the moment. They will likely give the equivalent of €250 per family but a two bedroom apartment for rent in Turkey would be a lot more than that."
Two of Gizem's siblings were set to travel to Malta prior to the disaster for university. She hopes that any funds raised will also help her siblings with essential living costs, as they now have little more than the clothes on their backs due to the scale of the disaster.
The appeal has raised €1,480 to date, with one generous sum of €1000 euro coming from an anonymous donor. People can donate to the fundraiser via Gizem's GoFundMe.
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