Tampa attorney works to raise money for earthquake victims in hometown of Adana, Turkey

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa attorney, whose hometown of Adana, Turkey was devastated by 7.8 magnitude earthquake, is working to raise money for the victims. 

Emel Ersan, an attorney in Tampa, is still trying to get in touch with some of her family who live in Turkey that are still unaccounted for after the deadly earthquake. She's one of many who feel helpless. 

"We want to go there. We want to physically go there. We want to dig into the rubble," Ersan said.

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Ersan was born and raised in Adana, which is Turkey's fifth-largest city, until she was 10-year-old when she moved to the US. She visits ever summer and has countless friends and family who still live in Turkey. 

"My friends are telling me that it's utter pandemonium, that everybody is looking for their loved ones, walking down the street, cleaning the rubble to see if their husbands can be dug out. It's just it's just chaos," Ersan said.

Photos snapped by her friends show a rescuer holding the hand of a victim in rubble in Adana waiting to be rescued. Another image shows a dog with his injured owner. Friends tell her the dog didn't leave his side for hours as he was treated in the streets.

Right now, Ersan said people are without food or water. Friends tell her streets are impassible and that people are sleeping outside afraid to be indoors. 

"There's a coastal area where we live and all the fishermen are gathering blankets and water, and they're actually sailing to the city next to us, because it's the only way to get to them and so Turkish people are known to be extremely compassionate," Ersan said.

Video shows the same fisherman in an assembly line loading packs of bottled water on to a ship to be sent to Adana. So far, Ersan has helped raised an upwards of $50,000 through her local contacts giving it to private organizations like Ahbap.org to help the victims.

As for her family, she's still waiting to hear from cousins in Adana. She's hopeful they're okay and simply can't find a way to charge their cell phone, but for now she said she's concentrating on the overall need from medical supplies to blankets and plans to continue raising money.