Courage and despair at the epicenter of the devastating earthquake in Turkey

The city and region of Kahramanmaras was at the epicenter of Turkey’s earthquake and is now one of the main focal points of the effort to rescue survivors from its ruined buildings.

But shopkeepers in the town fear that with residents struggling to survive after the quake, some may take the law into their own hands. They say the city’s supermarkets have been looted. Some traders guard against the threat of looters, trying to protect their livelihood.

But while the disaster may have brought out the worst in some, others have braved aftershocks and unstable buildings to rescue those trapped inside.

Cameras captured the moment Mustafa Yilmaz, 48, was pulled alive from the rubble of his home in the city and welcomed by relatives. The families of several of his neighbors were anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.