STORY: Applause and cheers for international rescue teams as Turkey ended most search and rescue operations on Sunday, almost two weeks after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated the country's southeast and neighboring Syria.

Residents of hard-hit Hatay in southern Turkey watched as excavators worked to remove the rubble of destroyed buildings.

As hopes of finding any more survivors faded, families prayed for the recovery of bodies to mourn.

"We wanted the search and rescue to continue for a month. We expected it to continue for a month. People could already be dead, but at least they could reach those bodies and they could have a grave and people would know where it is."

These red balloons were tied to demolished buildings in memory of children who died in the earthquake.

Every time we tie a balloon my head hurts, said the project’s initiator.

He said between 1,000 and 1,500 balloons have been tied so far.

The earthquake has killed more than 46,000 people in Turkey and Syria and has left a million-plus people homeless.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken surveyed the damage in Turkey on Sunday and promised an additional $100 million dollars to the response, on top of the $85 million already approved.

The World Health Organization estimates that some 26 million people across both Turkey and Syria need humanitarian aid.

On Sunday, Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said a convoy of its trucks had entered Syria after concerns over a lack of access to the war-ravaged area.

In the city of Azaz, hundreds of displaced families were struggling to find somewhere to stay amid a shortage of tents.

One volunteer setting up camps for those who lost their homes told Reuters that aid from the United Nations and relief agencies still hadn't reached the area yet.