U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took a helicopter tour Sunday of one of the provinces worst-affected by the February 6 earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria and pledged a further USD 100 million in aid to help the region, writes apnews.com.

“This is going to be a long-term effort”, - Blinken said at Incirlik Air Base, a joint U.S.-Turkish facility that has coordinated the distribution of disaster aid. “The search and rescue, unfortunately, is coming to an end. The recovery is on, and then there will be a massive rebuilding operation”.

President Joe Biden announced USD 85 million for Turkey and Syria days after the earthquake that has killed more than 44,000 people in the two countries. The U.S. has also sent a search and rescue team, medical supplies and equipment.

The additional aid includes USD 50 million in emergency refugee and migration funds and USD 50 million in humanitarian assistance, Blinken said.

The secretary of state is making his first trip to NATO ally Turkey since he took office two years ago. Blinken arrived at Incirlik Air Base, near Adana, on Sunday after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany.