THE biggest earthquakes to hit Turkey and Syria in the last century have left a catastrophic and devastating impact. More than 45,000 people have died and over 100,000 are injured with the death toll expected to continue to rise.

A third earthquake struck the region on Monday at a magnitude of 6.4. 

Ormeau Road man Angus Lambkin is in in Malatya, Turkey, where he is working with the United Nations.

"We are in the North West of the area where the damage has been done and we are also up in the mountains, so our area is very cold, below 20 celsius," Angus said.

"There were six hundred people living here and it is said that two hundred people have left but there are also people who don't want to leave."

Because the earthquakes struck at the height of winter hundreds of thousands of people are without access to shelter, food, water, heaters, and medical care in freezing cold temperatures. This includes young children and elderly people. Over 47,000 buildings have been destroyed or damaged.

"People don't have enough heat, there are tents to put up, there's heat needed, there's a stove needed, and wood and blankets as well as coats and gloves because it is so cold at the moment,” said Angus.

"People in the city are in tents in car parks and this is different from the people who live in the countryside, people are having difficulty with their phone networks. It will be the goal of the governments to put people in something referred to as ‘containers’ like prefabs, a structure that is not very good but is much easier to heat than the tents."

Angus said there is "work for a few years" in terms of rebuilding. He has worked with the United Nations for over ten years around the world.

“This is different, I usually work with a different context such as wars. The context is different, but the work is the same,” added Angus.