Search Continues for Turkey Earthquake Victims as Death Toll Tops 300

ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images(ISTANBUL, Turkey) -- As devastating as Sunday's earthquake was in southeastern Turkey, there is hope that the death toll in the two towns hardest hit by the disaster won't be as high as previously thought.

Rescue efforts picked up Monday as crews frantically used whatever equipment and manpower was available to sift through the rubble in Van and Ercis, where most of the 366 deaths have occurred.

Over 1,300 people were injured when the magnitude 7.2 temblor struck Turkey, a seismic region where earthquakes are common.

Despite this fact, buildings are often not built up to code, which explains why so many Turks were killed or badly hurt by Sunday's quake.  It's believed that more than one thousand structures collapsed.

Still, people trapped for more than 24 hours were being pulled out alive from the debris on Monday, giving their rescuers some semblance of optimism that others survived the catastrophe.

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