Rushing to disaster zones to lend a helping hand has become Muhammet's second calling since the massive temblor and tsunami on the other side of the Japanese archipelago killed roughly 20,000 people in March 2011.

Muhammet, who has been living in his wife's native land for the past 30 years, said he was restless to bring aid since seeing the news of the devastation on TV. He sprang into action as soon as he learned the roads to Wajima had opened up.

Furiously working the phones in search of stores to stock up on supplies, Muhammet and his team - seven other compatriots and two Vietnamese - left their home in Nagoya around 3 a.m. on Thursday, shoving aside worries about driving through snow country without proper tyres.

"I just had to do something," he said.

The five-truck team finally arrived 11 hours later for a 300-km (180 miles) trip that would normally take half that time, and immediately got to work handing out everything from water and diapers to ready-made meals.

"We should have been exhausted but once we got here, we were energized," he said.

Muhammet, 46, said his motivation comes from knowing the despair and loneliness people can feel when they see no help arriving.

"I've been to other disaster zones so I sense the happiness of the victims when we're here. And that makes me feel I want to keep doing this," he said, speaking in Japanese.

Wajima, a city of about 30,000 best known for its lacquerware craft, has seen some of the worst destruction, with scores of homes and businesses collapsed or burnt down.

"We are truly thankful," said 72-year-old Matsuo Yata, after delivering a tray of vegetable soup with rice to others in the hall - now hosting more than 700 fellow evacuees. "A hot meal is the best."

Muhammet said he was less prepared in the 2011 disaster but managed to reach some victims in a tsunami-hit town, and has also helped with relief efforts after a flooding not far from his home in Nagoya.

Muhammet said he had prepared for the worst as seismologists warn that a massive earthquake could hit the Tokai region where he lives some time in the next 30 years.