By Staff, Agencies

More than 37,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria last Monday.

A week since the most devastating earthquakes in recent history, workers in Turkey and Syria were searching for signs of life in freezing temperatures as the death toll surpassed 37,000 and survivors expressed frustration about the rescue efforts.

Turkish authorities said that 31,974 people have been killed in the country, while more than 5,800 people are dead in Syria, according to the UN and the Syrian government, Al Jazeera reported.

The UN estimates up to 5.3 million people in Syria may be homeless after the earthquakes. Nearly 900,000 people are in urgent need of hot food in Turkey and Syria.

According to the rescue group, some 550 buildings were completely destroyed in northwestern Syria following last week’s earthquakes and more than 1,570 were also severely damaged.

Magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, toppling thousands of buildings and injuring tens of thousands of people. As many as 5.3 million people in Syria may need shelter, the UN Refugee Agency said, and the number of fatalities in both countries continues to rise.

The World Health Organization’s director for Europe, which includes Turkey, says the earthquakes are the “worst natural disaster” in 100 years in the region.

“We are witnessing the worst natural disaster in the WHO European region for a century and we are still learning about its magnitude,” Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, told a press conference.