The US team that will provide assistance to Turkey after the earthquake is expected to arrive in Adana, Turkey, tomorrow morning local time, the team leader Stephen Allen told reporters on Tuesday.

United States Agency for International Development's Disaster Assistance Recovery Team (USAID DART) includes two search and rescue teams from Los Angeles and Fairfax.

The focus right now is on “saving lives” Allen said. US teams will “still be useful” and make an impact on recovering lives, he said. There is no other search and rescue team in Adana at this time.

Each of the search and rescue teams will have about 80 people, rescue dogs and about 170,000 pounds of specialized tools and equipment. Specialized equipment includes hydraulic saws for concrete, torches, drills and advanced medical capabilities, Allen said. US military assets are being used to bring the teams into Turkey, he said.

The canine teams will be particularly useful because the dogs will help sniff out survivors instead of people blindly digging through the rubble, Allen said.

There are about 20 international government search and rescue teams on the ground right now, totaling about 2,000 people, Allen said. Those teams are working with Turkish teams, and Turkey is defining the next steps of support that are needed.

Allen would not project how long the search and rescue efforts would take.