KEY POINTS:
- More than 4,000 people are dead and thousands more are injured in the earthquakes that devastated Syria and Turkey.
- Australia's government has pledged humanitarian aid as the true toll of the disaster is yet to be discovered.
- As international aid arrives on the ground, here are some ways Australians can help those most affected.
More and more people are being desperately pulled out of the rubble in Syria and Turkey.
Some, barely alive, are bloodied and stunned as rescue teams carry their limp bodies to shelter for immediate aid.
Others didn't make it out.
Horrifying footage continues to emerge of buildings collapsing as livelihoods and homes are destroyed.
Syria's civil defence, or the White Helmets, has called for help, saying that "time is running out" for those still stuck under the rubble.
The international community has scrambled to provide emergency aid across Turkey's southeast and the northwest region of Syria, with
For Australians who are looking to make difference where they can, here are some ways to help.
Red Cross
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world's largest humanitarian network, has launched two emergency appeals in Syria and Turkey in response to the disaster.
IFRC is providing hot meals, as well as gathering blood and plasma donations and helping to take victims to shelters and nearby hospitals.
"The vulnerable living conditions, particularly in Syria, are even further stretched in a decade-long war. People who lost their homes and loved ones need our support," the IFRC's Xavier Castellanos said.
“This earthquake caused unfathomable damage. Our worst fear is coming true. In this response, every minute counts."
Alliance of aid
Emergency Action Alliance, a coalition of 15 Australian charities, .
Donations to Emergency Action Alliance will directly go to nine of its major charity organisations, such as UNHCR, Save the Children, Oxfam, and CARE.
Assistance will include - but is not limited to - emergency shelter, medical services and providing winter kits for children.
Support local
is a local not-for-profit organisation based in Sydney, founded by four Turkish migrants who provide support to their home country.
One of the co-founders, Erkan Danis, said his team is appealing for people to donate funds for its partners on the ground to provide tents, blankets, nappies and raincoats.
Locals are facing freezing temperatures and heavy rain, with many unable to return to their properties that have since been destroyed by the earthquakes.
"A lot of people who were able to survive are not prepared to go to properties, and are living in their cars," Mr Danis said.
Islamic pillar of charity
was already in Syria's rebel-held northwest where 2.8 million displaced people are situated.
Mohammed Hamza, Head of Islamic Relief’s office in Idlib, said the earthquake felt like "judgement day" as people remain on the streets, scared to return home in fear of experiencing aftershocks.
The majority of Syria and Turkey's populations are Muslim - one of the religion's pillars is charity. Now, aid organisations such as Islamic Relief are calling on people to help in the name of their faith.
"Right now the Islamic Relief team here is distributing blankets, sheets and mattresses that we have in stock – but these will run out today and we need more as soon as possible," Mr Hamza said in a statement.
"Hospitals are inundated with injured people so we’re providing them with medicine and other supplies."
