Istanbul/Damascus, 24 February 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The number of people killed by the earthquake in the Turkey-Syria border region earlier this month has passed 50,000, according to the latest figures from both countries.

The quake has claimed the lives of 44,218 people in Turkey alone, according to its disaster agency AFAD.

In neighbouring Syria, 5,900 deaths have been reported so far, although a war monitor has said that 6,760 have died.

Of those 6,760, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 2,234 had died in government-held areas and 4,526 in the areas controlled by the opposition, mainly in north-west Syria.

The series of quakes began on February 6 when two earthquakes shook south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria, the first measuring 7.7 and the second a little later at magnitude 7.6.

The region has been rocked by more than 9,000 aftershocks since then, according to the AFAD.

Nearly 530,000 people have been evacuated from the disaster area in Turkey alone.

Across the border, more than 100,000 people were displaced, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The disaster is not only the worst in Turkish history in terms of fatalities, according to the United Nations. The mountains of rubble and debris were also unprecedented, said Louisa Vinton, the UN Development Program (UNDP) representative in Turkey.

According to the Turkish government, more than 173,000 buildings have so far been recorded as collapsed or severely damaged.

That wreckage has left more than 1.9 million people taking refuge in temporary shelters or hotels and public facilities.

Work is under way to create 130 separate container house settlements, according to Turkey's AFAD.

Nearly 240,000 rescue workers, including volunteers, continue to work in the 11 quake-hit provinces in Turkey.

Some of the areas affected by the quakes were initially difficult to access, but recovery efforts continue and casualty numbers are rising as they progress.

There have been no reports of survivors being rescued in recent days.

Overall, some 20 million people in Turkey have been affected by the quake, while the UN estimates that 8.8 million people have been affected in Syria.

However, less information has come from Syria, where many are living in precarious settings after years of fighting.