The death toll of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which hit Van province in eastern Turkey Sunday afternoon has increased to 279, while about 1,300 people were injured as on Monday. Hundreds of people continue to remain unaccounted for and Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said they may be buried under rubble.

The rescue operation struggled to get into full swing as even the electricity was cut off after the earthquake. However, undaunted, survivors and emergency service workers used torches or floodlights powered by mobile generators to dig into the ruins. Some even used shovels to search for the victims.

Ercis, a town of 100,000, was devastated - 55 buildings were flattened, including a student dormitory.

We don't know how many people are in the ruins of collapsed buildings, it would be wrong to give a number, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Ercis, said.

However, Because the buildings are made of adobe, they are more vulnerable to quakes. I must say that almost all buildings in such villages are destroyed, Erdogan said in a televised news conference in Van midnight Sunday.

Refugees have to live outdoor and the Turkish government and Thurih Red Crescent set up tents, field hospitals and kitchens to help the displaced.

We are working on supplying people with places to spend the night, find shelter. One hundred tents are being erected in the city stadium now, and 700 more will be put up in the municipality stadium, Sahin told Reuters in Ercis.

The hospital in the quake-hit area was destroyed and the medical personnel had to treat the injured in the garden. Bodies were being left outside the building, one nurse told CNN Turk news channel.

According to the military, two battalions had been sent to assist the relief operations. Ambulances, soldiers, emergency teams everywhere now, working on getting people out of collapsed buildings. I have seen many dead bodies being taken out, the teams are trying to find people alive, Reuters photographer Osman Orsal said.

However, the Turkey earthquake isn't the first deadly natural disaster to strike this year. Start the slideshow to review the painful moments of natural disasters that struck worldwide in 2011.

Rubble is seen on cars in central Christchurch
Rubble is seen on cars in central Christchurch March 2, 2011. New Zealand came to a standstill on Tuesday as people marked the moment a deadly earthquake shattered the country's second-biggest city Christchurch a week ago, and the number of confirmed dead rose by one to 155. Reuters
A man walks near a pile of tsunami debris in Ishinomaki
A man walks near a pile of tsunami debris in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, September 11, 2011, six months after the area was devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. Reuters
Men move debris in yard of friend the aftermath of deadly tornados in badly-damaged Alberta neighborhood of Tuscaloosa
Lajun Jones (L) and Chris Rollins move debris in the yard of a friend in the aftermath of deadly tornados in the badly-damaged Alberta neighborhood of Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 30, 2011. The government on Saturday ramped up efforts to help thousands of homeless victims of the country's second deadliest tornado outbreak on record that killed at least 350 people. Reuters
Flood waters from the Passaic River fill the streets covering automobiles including a Chevrolet SUV days after Hurricane Irene in Paterson, New Jersey
Flood waters from the Passaic River fill the streets covering automobiles including a Chevrolet SUV days after Hurricane Irene in Paterson, New Jersey, August 31, 2011. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano planned on Wednesday to tour regions of New Jersey heavily damaged by flooding from Hurricane Irene. Reuters
Thailand Floods A Third of the Country Under Water 30 Bn Loss to Economy
A Buddhist monk walks in a flooded street in central Bangkok, on October 24. Thailand is struggling with its worst flooding in 50 years, which has affected a third of its provinces and could swamp more of its densely populated capital, Bangkok, if water flowing from the north and heavy rain causes canals to burst their banks. Reuters
Turkish people search for survivors as they stand on the rubbles of a building which collapsed during an earthquake in Van
Turkish people search for survivors as they stand on the rubbles of a building which collapsed during an earthquake in Van, Turkey October 24, 2011. Rescuers pulled survivors from beneath mounds of collapsed buildings and searched for the missing on Monday after a major earthquake killed at least 264 people and wounded more than 1,000 in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey. Reuters
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