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Exhausted rescuers have pulled dwindling numbers of survivors from earthquake rubble in Turkey and Syria, five days after one of the region's worst natural disasters as the death toll nears 26,000 and looks set to rise far higher.

Some rescue operations were halted on Saturday after reports of looting.

Facing questions over his handling of Turkey's most devastating earthquake since 1939, President Tayyip Erdogan promised to start rebuilding within weeks after he said hundreds of thousands of buildings were wrecked.

In Syria, the disaster hit hardest in the rebel-held northwest, leaving many homeless for a second time after already being displaced by the ongoing civil war.

In the southern Turkish city of Antakya, body bags lay on streets and residents wore masks against the smell of death as they joined rescuers who had still to reach some buildings.

"There is chaos, rubble and bodies everywhere," said one, whose group had worked overnight trying to reach a university teacher calling to them from the rubble.

By morning, she had stopped responding.

In Kahramanmaras, close to the epicentre in Turkey, there were fewer visible rescue operations amid the smashed concrete mounds of fallen houses and apartment blocks.

But at one building, rescuers burrowed between concrete slabs to reach a five year-old girl still alive, lifting her on a stretcher, wrapped in foil, and chanting "God is Greatest".

Only several others were brought out alive on Saturday.

Two German rescue organisations suspended work, citing reports of clashes between groups of people and gunfire.

An Austrian team also briefly suspended work.

Gizem, a rescue worker from the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, said she had seen looters in Antakya.

"We cannot intervene much as most of the looters carry knives," she said.

Police and soldiers were out in force on Saturday to keep order, also helping with traffic, rescues and food handouts.

Turkey said about 80,000 people were in hospital, with more than one million in temporary shelters.

Outside Antakya, workers at a mass grave lowered bodybags into a freshly dug trench where a mechanical digger covered them with earth. About 80 bags awaited burial.

New graves also covered a hillside outside Gaziantep, some marked with flowers or small Turkish flags flapping in the breeze. A woman broke down in sobs next to one of the graves as a boy tried to comfort her.

Survivors feared disease, with basic infrastructure smashed.

"If people don't die here under the rubble, they'll die from injuries, if not they will die from infection. There is no toilet here. It is a big problem," rescue worker Gizem said.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths described the earthquake as the worst event in 100 years in the region.

He praised Turkey's response, saying it was his experience that people in disaster zones were always disappointed early in relief efforts.

He predicted the death toll would at least double.

The disaster hit as Erdogan prepares for a national election scheduled for June. His popularity was already falling amid the soaring cost of living and a slumping Turkish currency.

People in the quake zone and opposition politicians have accused the government of slow and inadequate relief early on and critics have said the army, which played a main role after a 1999 earthquake, was not involved fast enough.

Questions are also starting to be asked about the soundness of buildings.

State prosecutors in Adana ordered the detention of 62 people in an investigation into collapsed buildings, while prosecutors sought the arrest of 33 people in Diyarbakir for the same reason, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

Monday's 7.8 magnitude quake, with several powerful aftershocks across Turkey and Syria, ranks as the world's seventh deadliest natural disaster this century, approaching the 31,000 killed by a quake in neighbouring Iran in 2003.

With a death toll so far of 22,327 inside Turkey, it is the country's deadliest earthquake since 1939. More than 3500 have died in Syria, where tolls have not been updated since Friday.

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Super League champions St Helens have tuned up for next week's World Club Challenge against Penrith by beating St George Illawarra in an NRL trial game.

They showed flashes of brilliance in Saturday's 30-18 win that will encourage them they can take it to the NRL premiers next weekend, highlighted by a stunning display from winger Tommy Makinson.

The result was not the start to 2023 the Dragons were after, having been expected by many to prove the NRL's superiority despite finishing 10th in the last campaign.

St Helens captain James Roby admitted his side would need to find an extra gear to match the powerhouse Panthers next Saturday.

"That's the preparation we need, we know next week is going to be another level," he told Fox Sports.

"It's a huge occasion, and all our middles ... they need to get that contact in.

"It's a long way to travel over here and it was our first hit-out, first time against NRL opposition ... the game was great for us.

"Australia doesn't get to see St Helens play week in, week out. We know what we're about and we want to show that."

The Panthers will need to be wary of Makinson. The winger looked a class above in scoring a try, assisting another and coming up with 152 metres of dashing runs the Dragons defenders struggled to cover.

St Helens had all 17 of their players from last year's grand final and started at a blistering pace, scoring two tries in the first 10 minutes.

Halfback Lewis Dodd scored the opener, before Jack Welsby crossed minutes later after a brilliant flick from Makinson.

St George went with their first-choice back five to start the contest while Moses Mbye played at No.7.

They are looking for a round-one halves partner for Ben Hunt, with emerging five-eighth Talatau Amone stood down over an alleged hammer attack.

Jayden Sullivan, the leading No.6 option in Amone's absence, is battling a hamstring injury that has him racing against the clock to be ready for the season-opener.

"(There's a) few things for us to work on, we've had a few errors there and we didn't execute what we wanted to but it was a good trial, we ironed out a few creases," Mbye said.

"We've got a few dramas in the halves at the minute. I've played there before ... I was brought to this club for that role, to cover a few positions.

"They were a really good outfit ... they'll struggle against the Penrith boys over here though."

Forward trio Jacob Liddle, Ben Murdoch-Masila and Nick Lui-Toso all had their first runs for the Dragons after signing in the off-season.

Young fullback Treigh Stewart, currently on a train-and-trial deal with the Dragons, turned in an eye-catching display with five tackle busts and 95m to complement a stunning first-half try.

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Australia's hopes of regaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy are hanging by a thread after they crumbled to an embarrassing innings and 132-run defeat to India in the first Test in Nagpur.

Trailing by 223 runs at the start of their second innings, Australia collapsed to be all-out for 91 - their second lowest Test total against India - in just 33 overs on the third day at VCA Stadium.

After captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first, Australia were skittled for 177 on day one, while India racked up 400 during their only innings.

Australia's batters looked clueless against Ravichandran Ashwin on a turning pitch as the prolific India spinner starred with figures of 5-37, giving him eight wickets for the match.

The tourists narrowly avoided their lowest Test innings score against India - 83 at the MCG in 1981.

A tour that began with so much promise, as Australia looked to win a Test series in India for the first time since 2004, is in disarray.

India will take a 1-0 lead into the next match at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, a venue where they have not lost a Test since 1987.

"Sometimes it's almost easier to put behind you those kind of losses," Cummins said.

"You are looking at small margins, you have to have a hard look at your game and the big strides you need to change to give yourself the best chance next week.

"We've had a really good run the last 12 months.

"There hasn't been many losses in that change room. I don't think we need to reinvent the wheel, it's just tweaking different approaches to how we play, and maybe particular methods."

Australia's first match in India in six years started in chaotic fashion and ended the same way.

Selectors gambled by dropping Travis Head, the world's No.4-ranked batter, based on his poor record in Asia after fruitless tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka last year.

Head's replacement at No.5, Matt Renshaw, made scores of 0 and 2 and spent much of the second day off the ground with knee soreness.

Australia badly missed the services of allrounder Cameron Green, who is no certainty to play in Delhi as he continues his recovery from a broken finger.

Fast bowlers Mitchell Starc (finger) and Josh Hazlewood (achilles) will also be pushing to be selected for the second Test.

The only bright spot for Australia was the stunning debut of offspinner Todd Murphy.

The 22-year-old finished with figures of 7-124 to become the sixth Australian to take seven or more wickets in his debut Test, with the most recent before him being spinner Jason Krezja in 2008.

But India had far more matchwinners to grind the Aussies down.

Star allrounder Ravi Jadeja, playing his first Test since July after undergoing knee surgery, set the tone for India on day one with figures of 5-47.

India captain and hometown hero Rohit Sharma (120) then peeled off a flawless century, his ninth in Tests, to quickly push the hosts past Australia's mediocre total.

"I don't know the mental status of the Australian team," Sharma said.

"I can certainly vouch for our team because we are the ones who are wanting to play on pitches like this, we've been playing on pitches like this for the last three or four years."

Murphy took regular wickets, but Jadeja punished Australia again by smashing 70 and was joined by fellow spinner Axar Patel (84no) in forming a crucial lower-order stand.

India's innings ended just before lunch, but Australia's batters could not last until the tea break.

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Norfolk Island residents are bracing for damage from Cyclone Gabrielle, which is expected to bring the most destructive weather to hit the remote outpost in three decades.

The cyclone was reclassified as a category two storm - down from a category three - as it neared the Australian territory.

The system was predicted to pass over or near the island about 9pm Norfolk Island time (2000 AEDT) on Saturday, bringing destructive winds and very heavy surf.

The Bureau of Meteorology said Gabrielle was moving quickly at 6pm and was about 105km west-northwest of the island, home to around 2000 residents.

"Gale-force winds and high waves are likely occurring around parts of the island, and conditions may worsen overnight as the centre of the cyclone moves past," the bureau said.

There were already reports of downed trees and widespread power outages by 7pm, according to the ABC.

There were some indications that the island might avoid the system's strongest winds, however, a period of destructive winds with gusts up to 140km/h was still possible during Saturday evening or early Sunday.

Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore warned of bursts of heavy rainfall and very large seas and swell.

"These winds and rainfall are likely to bring down trees and powerlines (and) could cause some property damage as well as very dangerous and treacherous driving conditions," he said.

"We expect the centre of the circulation to move across Norfolk Island overnight and then start moving away from Norfolk Island (in the) early hours of Sunday morning.

"But on the backside, we expect another burst of strong to destructive winds as well as some bursts of heavy rainfall and a continuing damaging surf and swell."

Gabrielle should have weakened by Sunday afternoon and be well southeast of Norfolk Island, but surf conditions would remain hazardous through Sunday, Mr Narramore said.

A hazardous surf warning was in place for the Fraser Island coast, and waters off Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast until midnight on Sunday.

The bureau was urging people to consider staying out of the water and avoid walking near surf-exposed areas, and for boaters to consider delaying their voyage if they planned to cross shallow water and ocean bars.

Tourists were urged to leave ahead of the storm, but Norfolk Island administrator Eric Hutchinson said anywhere between 800 and 950 visitors likely remained on the island.

"We are well prepared and we have just got to see this through, and then we will look at what resources are going to be needed in a recovery phase from tomorrow," he told ABC TV.

Teams of military and emergency personnel are on standby to respond as needed.

An emergency evacuation centre was made available on Saturday morning.

Mr Hutchinson said a cyclone of similar strength last passed over Norfolk Island in the mid-1990s, and residents were bracing for damage.

"We are expecting power outages, trees coming down, the potential for houses to lose roofs," he said.

Mr Hutchinson said he was most concerned about damage to visitor accommodation and the island's hospital, but there were contingency plans in place to deal with those events.

New Zealand's Met Service expects the cyclone to weaken to a tropical low before it moves towards the North Island on Sunday, although it is predicted to deliver severe wet and windy weather to regions including flood-hit Auckland.

Low to severe intensity heatwave conditions were expected in central and southeast Queensland at the weekend and into early next week.

© AAP 2023