Hey, it's Jen. Just a quick heads up before we start the show.

The news is rapidly developing and things may have changed by the time you hear this episode.

For the latest news tune into your public radio station and follow updates at npr.org.

Hi, my name is Al and I am a physician working in Indiana.

I watched with the shock and grief what's happening in Syria and Turkey after the earthquake.

And I want to raise awareness of what the white helmets are doing.

They helped in saving people before when there was bombing against civilians and they are still

helping. This is really heartbreaking and sad but still showing the courage and heroism of

those helping people with limited resources. A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey

and multiple aftershocks have left rescue teams and civilians scrambling to save lives.

Since then, Turkish Kurdish and Syrian people have walked among collapsed buildings looking for

loved ones in the rubble. I took my children and my wife immediately and we left the building

to the street. Many of the people lost their children, their partners, everybody was shouting.

That was Mohammed Hemser, a coordinator for the organization Islamic Relief, speaking to the BBC.

In response to the disaster, Turkish President Regip Tayyip Erdogan called for a three-month

emergency across 10 provinces in the country. Coming up after the break, we take a look at the

devastation and the aftermath of the quake. We talk to journalists and aid organizations to get

a better sense of how the people who live in the region are coping. I'm Jen White. You're listening

to the 1A podcast where we get to the heart of the story. We'll be back with more in just a moment.

Let's start our discussion with a conversation I had with Piotr Zaluski. Piotr is a

correspondent for the economist based in Turkey. Piotr had recently returned from

Antakia in southern Turkey. I began our conversation by asking him what the city looks like following

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