Heartbreak for London families with loved ones in Turkey after earthquake

ITV London's reporter Simon Harris speaks with Londoners whose families are in Turkey.

From raising money for much needed supplies to helping load aid trucks - communities across London are coming together to help the victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquake.

The region was hit with a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and a series of aftershocks and the death toll is said to have risen to 20,700 on Thursday, making it one of the world's deadliest earthquakes in more than a decade.

For many Londoners it is also very personal and very painful.

Talya and Sienna Adams have family in Iskenderun in Turkey and spent three weeks with them this summer.

On Monday they woke up to their mum crying:

"I ran downstairs to see what had happened" Talya says. "The only thing I could hear from her was ‘earthquake’ and my cousins' names and my uncle's name and she said they haven’t been found yet.”

Sienna was picked up from school and told the news.

"My dad said my family members were stuck and I just turned to him and I asked him ‘what do you mean stuck?’ I had no idea it was at this level or how bad it was. And I had no idea that they were just stuck under their ruined block of flats.”

Their uncle and two cousins aged 16 and 21 all died in the earthquake. Their aunt survived but is now living in a car.

The girls say it has been totally devastating for their family, in particular their mum.

"My mum is really struggling" says Talya. "We’re having to force her to eat and drink. I’ve never seen her like this. On my mum’s side they were the closest family that we had been fearing this a lot of the time because where they lived is right on the tectonic plates.”

For Sienna, being so far away in London while tragedy unfolds in Turkey is a jarring experience. She has started a fundraising page for her aunt:

"Words can’t really describe how horrible the feeling is. When you’re just sitting at home, just trying to get on with your day – and you remember what happened to them and you think – how can I just get on with my day when this has happened to my family?

It just feels so wrong."