ANKARA, Turkey — The harshest winter in decades has added to the woes of more than 140,000 quake survivors who are braving record low temperatures and heavy snowfall in tents or temporary homes in eastern Turkey.

As Europe battles a deep freeze that started in late January and has killed hundreds, the homeless in Turkey's snow-covered zone say Friday they are struggling to keep their tents or mobile homes warm with the help of coal stoves or electrical heaters as freezing temperatures quickly suck up the heat.

Turkey's government says it is racing with time to erect temporary cities and build proper apartment buildings to answer the plight of the quake homeless.

A magnitude-7.2 quake and a magnitude-5.7 quake in October flattened some 2,000 buildings, killing 644 people in and around the city of Van.