The death toll is over 41,000, and 9 more people have been pulled out of the wreckage 

A week after a devastating earthquake in Turkey, nine more people have been rescued from the rubble of destroyed buildings.

According to the British news agency Reuters, the focus of the relief operations is now to help the victims who are homeless during the extreme cold season and do not have access to adequate food.

The death toll in Turkey and Syria has exceeded 41,000 so far. Several cities in both countries have been severely damaged.

After the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted that there were some problems with the government's response initially, but that the situation is now under control.

He said in a televised address in Ankara that 'we are facing the biggest natural disaster not only in our country but also in the history of humanity.'

Among those rescued on Tuesday were two brothers, aged 17 and 21, who were pulled from the wreckage of apartments in Kahramanmaras province.

A Syrian man and a young woman who were trapped under the rubble for more than two hundred hours were rescued in Antakya.

An aid worker said that more people could still survive. But UN officials have said the rescue phase is winding down and the focus is on housing, food and schooling.

Hasan Saimova, a refugee, lives with his family in a playground in the southeastern city of Gazi Antip, Turkey.



"People are suffering a lot, we applied to get a tent, aid or something, but so far we have not received anything," he said.

Saimowa and other Syrians who sought refuge in Ghazi Antip because of the war in their country have now been displaced by the earthquake.

They have used plastic sheets, blankets and cardboard to set up temporary tents in the playground.

According to Hans-Henry P. Kluge, the World Health Organization's director for Europe, "the needs are enormous and growing by the hour." About 260 million people in both countries are in need of humanitarian assistance.