Storms and cold weather have hampered search and rescue efforts in quake-hit areas in Turkey and Syria over the past 24 hours.
Hurricane Barbara brought strong winds, heavy rain and even snow to the devastated area, with daytime temperatures several degrees below average – leaving rescuers faced with wet conditions and frozen as they worked hard to find survivors.
Conditions are likely to improve in the coming days but temperatures will remain low.
Death toll reaches 5,000 as Syrian town bombed ‘soon after’ earthquake – latest update
Search operations in Adana, Turkey. Photo: AP
In Gaziantep, near the epicenter of the earthquakeRecovery efforts will face overnight temperatures of -5C with many rural areas having values even below that.
The area will be mostly dry but some areas could see showers, sometimes winter, in the coming days.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck in the early hours of Monday morning while everyone was sleeping.
A second quake on Monday afternoon, at a slightly lower magnitude 7.5, also caused widespread damage.
More than 285 aftershocks has been recorded since the original earthquake.
So far, the tremors have left more than 6,300 people died.
And with many more trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, the death toll is expected to rise.
People are assisting in the rescue of other locals in the Turkish town of Pazarcik on Monday
Adana, Turkey Photo: AP
Hope ‘every minute’ fades for survivors
Charities and humanitarian organizations have warned that with nearly 5,800 buildings destroyed in Turkey alone, the next 36 hours are crucial in finding survivors.
“Now is a race against time,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO).
He added: “Every minute, every hour that passes, the chance of finding survivors decreases.”
More than 8,000 people have been pulled from the rubble in Turkey, and about 380,000 have taken shelter in government shelters or hotels.
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‘Women are crying and devastation is everywhere’
People search for survivors at the intensive care unit of the collapsed state hospital in Iskenderun
Secretary of State James Cleverly confirmed in the House of Commons today that Three Britons missing in Turkey but “the possibility of large-scale British casualties remains low”.
Mr Cleverly added that the Foreign Office was assisting at least 35 British nationals directly affected by the quake.
The Foreign Office also confirmed that a flight carrying UK aid to Turkey had taken off.
