The Turkey earthquake, according to a veteran of disaster relief, is the worst he has ever experienced.
Steve Davies, a member of the Mid and West Wales Fire Service, has previously provided assistance during disasters in Japan, Haiti, Nepal, and Indonesia.
He is currently in the now-demolished city of Antakya in southern Turkey.
Wales has raised £1.2 million of the overall £32.9 million since the Disaster Emergency Committee's appeal was launched on Thursday.
The deputy leader of the UK's international search and rescue team is Mr. Davies, a Swansea native.
"To actually see it firsthand and see the scale of the disaster on the affected area is quite incredible," the speaker said.
It is an enormous, vast area that the earthquake has completely destroyed.
"We've been experiencing aftershocks for the entire week that we've been in this location, and these are incredibly minor compared to the main shocks, so it must have been massive.
Now, there have been over 20,000 fatalities.
To cover as many sites as they could, the 51-year-old's team has been working quickly.
In order to save as many people as possible, Mr. Davies said, "it's been really difficult in that respect. If we can't identify a chance of a live rescue, we're having to move on.".
"We have daily live casualties out there.
The window of survival was rapidly closing, he warned.
"My team and I have traveled to Indonesia, Haiti, Nepal, and Japan. In order to prepare for these events, we collaborate with our international colleagues, but this one is huge.
"Everyone is saying the same thing: due to the extent of the destruction, the majority of the buildings have been impacted and are flattened, as opposed to other locations where it may have only been individual sites that were impacted.
The worst disaster, in Mr. Davies' opinion, he had ever witnessed.
He said, "We're seeing firsthand the effect on families and survivors who are still trying to reach their loved ones.".
Many things are happening right now that I don't think anyone would want to witness in their lifetime.
"However, the benefits of trying to save someone and witnessing the happiness on a mother's face when you hand her child back are indescribable.
Six people have been saved so far this week.
"That's what we're here for," he said. We'll return in good spirits, then.
Halit Sevim, who hails from Llangollen in Denbighshire, had already planned a trip to Diyarbakir before the earthquakes struck.
On February 26, he will visit the damage with two friends and collect donations.
He said the home of his cousin was completely destroyed.
I'm aware that numerous relatives have lost friends and neighbors, the man said.
The house of his cousin was so badly damaged that he was unable to enter it, and he continued, "My cousin lost his house, so he can't enter his house any longer due to the damage.
He claimed that a former coworker learned of his father's death on Friday.
He found out his mother had passed away two days earlier.
The Dee Side Bistro in Llangollen has launched an appeal for donations that Mr. Sevim and the restaurant's owner Huseyin Duyar will take to Turkey.
Many bags of clothing and blankets have been left at the company.
According to Mr. Sevim, "We're going to take whatever we can, and anything else, we'll take it to Manchester for a lorry to take it.".
Saleh Saeed, CEO of DEC, said: "The stories we are now hearing from the survivors who have managed to flee the rubble of flattened and crumpled buildings in the dead of winter without shoes and coats are desperately sad.
The struggles that they and their families are facing are difficult to understand.
But what we do know is that 14 of our member organizations are already providing assistance with money given to the DEC. They're offering warm meals, blankets, and medical assistance.
Andrew Mitchell, the development minister for the UK government, said: "It is because of the kindness and compassion of the British people that the DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal has reached the extraordinary total of £32.9 million in a matter of hours, which includes £5 million of match funding from the British taxpayer.
.
