Although the focus is now switching to aiding survivors in the aftermath of the quake, on Sunday rescue workers managed to pull three more people alive from the rubble including a 57-year-old disabled woman.

Critics have been quick to assail the Turkish authorities for being too slow in sending rescue teams and aid to the disaster zone.

The BBC's Caroline Wyatt:"The underwater search is just begining"

President Demirel said: "I want to tell my people that there will be better co-ordination among the state institutions.

"Foundations of buildings will be reviewed. We will follow movements under the earth better. We will make constructions strong against earthquakes."

The government earlier promised to probe accusations that poor quality buildings - which crumpled under the impact of the quake - only compounded the number of victims.

'Building goes on'

The BBC's Gavin Hewitt: "Turkey is facing a vast problem of homelessness"

The Turkish president acknowledged that many parts of the country were prone to earthquakes, but said: "We will continue living here and continue constructing buildings, bridges and dams. What we have to do is be more careful."

The BBC's Peter Biles: Rescuers have done nearly all they can to find survivors

The government says it will provide sanitation, water and food at makeshift tent cities set up to accommodate survivors. State and private institutions have been ordered to make available machinery and trucks in the seven provinces declared a disaster zone.

Officials now accept little hope remains of finding more survivors in the extreme heat nearly six days after the earthquake struck.

(Click here to see a map of where the earthquake struck)

International rescue teams have begun leaving Turkey after the authorities asked them to withdraw.

But French and Turkish rescuers managed to free a 57-year-old disabled woman from under a collapsed building in Golcuk - more than 130 hours after the disaster.

Adalet was pulled out alive130 hours after the quake

Adalet Cetinol was alive but suffering kidney problems. She was transferred to the military hospital in Istanbul, according to the Anatolia news agency.

The rescuers had detected her presence using ultra-sensitive hearing aids.

A 35-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl were also dug alive out of the rubble on Sunday.

Attention is now turning to the more than 30,000 injured and hundreds of thousands who were made homeless in the quake.

The Turkish Government's priority is to find temporary accommodation for the homeless and to counter the possible spread of infectious diseases.

More soldiers have been deployed in the earthquake zone, where many residents were enraged because they believe the government was slow to mobilise troops at a time of major crisis.

Turkey has pledged to build settlements so that victims can survive the winter

Turkish troops were pitching tents in Golcuk, while health officials spread lime in gutters. And as quickly as the dead are pulled from the debris, they are being taken for burial to lessen the chances of disease.

Infection is a threat to the thousands of homeless who are left with no running water, toilets or electricity.

Dr Suat Duranay of the Health Ministry said: "Dysentery and gastroenteritis are possibilities but we are taking measures. There is speculation of typhoid and cholera but it is untrue. We have identified no cases."

With the chance of finding survivors slipping away, bulldozers and trucks have moved into the disaster zones to haul away rubble from more than 115,000 destroyed buildings.

Turkey's Minister of Public Works and Housing, Koray Aydin, has promised that prefabricated cities will be established for the quake victims in temporary settlement areas close to their former houses.

Visa offer

For those who decide not to stay in Turkey, Germany has announced that it will ease entry requirements for victims and close relatives of children hurt in the quake.

Claus Henning Schapper, state secretary at the Interior Ministry, said: "We don't think children who come to Germany will need to apply for a visa.

He said Germany, home to some two million expatriate Turks, would also not require visas for close relatives of children affected by the disaster.

Read the accounts of those who experienced the earthquake by clicking here