Aid agency Concern has said the survivors of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria will require humanitarian assistance into next year.
It's a month to the day since the region was rocked by a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, followed by a second of 7.5 magnitude.
Concern Worldwide country director for Turkey Andy Buchanan said there is "still ongoing work to clean up and remove rubble" amid continued aftershocks.
He said people in the affected regions of south east Turkey and north west Syria are "still very traumatised."
"They are depending on donations from the Government firstly, but also from other organisations to meet their basic needs - water, shelter and food."
Speaking to RTÉ News from the Turkish city of Sanliurfa today, Mr Buchanan said "there's a high potential for all kinds of problems in the weeks and months ahead."
"There's hundreds of thousands of people living in tents. Obviously, there is a significant risk of public health issues especially around toilets, washing, getting clean water, that kind of thing."
He said the people who are camping out in the impacted provinces are living in very difficult circumstances and the challenges are immense.
"From our perspective, we're starting our activities and we expect it to continue for months, for the rest of this year, into next year. The recovery, the support, it's going be a long process to build back."
He also said it is going to take time to restore basic services and rebuild damaged structures.
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Earlier, the Chief of Communications with the UN children's agency UNICEF said there is an urgent need for shelter, in the effected areas.
Speaking to RTÉ's News at One, Eva Hinds said the situation for hundreds of thousands of children and their families remains dire and many are staying in collective shelters.
This can mean staying in small crowded places with very little privacy.
Ms Hinds said some families have to take turn sleeping on mattresses.
She said: "It is a very difficult situation for these children and families who had to leave their homes so abruptly a month ago, in the middle of the night."
Ms Hinds said access to safe and clean water, sanitary supplies, medicine and food are priorities.
Poor hygiene conditions in these places is a real risk, she said.
A number of educational supports have also been put in place in these collective shelters, she said, because this is very important for children.
She said UNICEF has supported 140 children who were separated from their families in areas severely affected by quakes.
