UPDATE:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the areas hit by the massive 7.8 earthquake Monday, a disaster zone. According to reports from the AP and Reuters,  the 10 provinces affected by the devastating earthquakes in southern Turkey, now have been placed under a state of emergency for three months.

By Tuesday,  70 countries had offered to help the Turkish government with search and rescue operations.

According to the latest reports, the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria to over 22,000. The vicious aftershocks of the quake were responsible for 18,991 of those deaths and over 75,000 more injuries.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday morning, leaving 3,500 lives lost and many buildings destroyed. There is an ongoing search and rescue mission for survivors, according to reports.

According to Fox News, The World Health Organization (WHO) the death toll could increase as much as eight times as rescuers work to find more victims. WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, told AFP that, “We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows.”

To make matters worse, a mixture of rain and snow fell throughout the areas Turkey and Syria that were devastated by the earthquake. Eyewitness accounts described citizens as they ran out of their homes after waking up to the violent and thunderous shakes of the earthquake.

The massive earthquake toppled buildings in regions of Syria, which were held by the opposition due to the ongoing civil-war. Access to health and medical services was limited in the impoverished areas.

According to a doctor in Atmeh Syria, 11 people were killed with an unknown number of citizens buried underneath the debris from the toppled apartment buildings and other infrastructure.

The quake was so fierce that it could be felt in Cairo Egypt. The center-point  of the quake was located 60 miles from the Syrian border according to Fox News.

Hours later a series of at least 20 aftershock followed the quake. According to Turkish authorities the largest aftershock measured in at a 7.5 magnitude.

On twitter Turkish President, Reccep Tayyip Erdogan said, “We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage.”

The death toll continues to rise in Turkey and Syria.