Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: Freezing weather makes things worse as the death toll approaches 20,000

(BBC) ⸻ More than 20,000 people are now known to have been killed in Monday's earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and the UN warns the full extent is still unclear. Rescue efforts are hampered by vehicle shortages and devastated roads. A major international relief effort is gathering pace, with the World Bank pledging $1.78bn in aid to Turkey. UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the full extent of the catastrophe was still "unfolding before our eyes". The White Helmets rescue group said the only UN convoy that reached the region did not contain specialised equipment to free people trapped beneath the rubble. Officials said 17,600 people had died in Turkey and the death toll was at least 3,377 in Syria. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that a second humanitarian disaster will strike unless survivors can get access to shelter, food, water and medicine quickly. Resat Gozlu, a survivor in south-eastern Turkey, said rescue workers did not arrive until three days after the quake, and many remain trapped under the rubble. The WHO's Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, said communities in Syria depend on water reservoirs, which need to be replaced or the country faces cholera outbreaks.