x
Breaking News
More () »

'It's really bad' | Greensboro restaurant owner was visiting family in Turkey when earthquake hit

A Greensboro restaurant owner went to go visit his parents in Turkey when a disaster happened.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The number of people who've died in those earthquakes in Turkey is now at more than 20,000 and is expected to keep rising. 

Countless people are still trapped in collapsed buildings.

A Greensboro business owner is there right now.

You probably know him for his popular restaurant, Cugino Forno, which has three Triad locations.

He was in Turkey visiting family when the ground started shaking. Joseph Ozbey left the Triad for Turkey a few weeks ago to see his parents.

Nothing could've prepared him for the disaster that loomed.

"It was like a horror movie that you're watching, but it's not a movie. It's real life," he said. 

Ozbey says 30 people are now staying in his family's house. Some have to sleep on the floor. He said he's up all night, trying to make sure they're okay.

"You can only do so much as one person," Ozbey said.

Ozbey said there is devastation everywhere you look. He's seen high-rise buildings crumble to the ground as he shot video surveying the area. His family lives just outside the hardest-hit area, which he said is hard to celebrate as bodies pile up.

"When you see all those people waiting for their family member, for their loved one, it's really bad," Ozbey said.

Ozbey said he's not certain when he'll come home. He says he'll keep doing all he can to help others, but he can't do it alone.

"Even a pair of socks that cost one dollar can make a big difference to a kid in Turkey," Ozbey explained. 

Temperatures are below freezing all the time, making recovery efforts even more challenging.

The city turned off all gas to avoid an explosion, leaving survivors without heat. He has hasn't taken his jacket off since Monday.

It's just one more problem in a growing list of concerns. The disaster is now being called one of the deadliest earthquakes on the planet in more than a decade.

Help from North Carolina is on the way.

Boone-based Samaritan's Purse deployed an emergency field hospital to Turkey Thursday.

 It plans to send a team of 75 disaster response specialists there soon.

 They'll stay as long as they're needed.

    

Before You Leave, Check This Out