Mideast in Pictures: Long road to recovery awaits quake-ravaged Turks, Syrians

People pass by a collapsed building in Adiyaman, Türkiye, Feb. 18, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA/DAMASCUS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- People in quake-ravaged southwestern Türkiye and northern Syria are making every step count despite facing a long road to recovery.

Toppled buildings, deformed cars, and scatters of personal belongings have yet to be properly attended in swaths of regions struck by twin 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes on Feb. 6, which have claimed more than 46,000 lives.

But debris removal is underway for the recovery of private properties in Hama, central Syria, Adiyaman of Türkiye, and many other affected regions, as part of the effort to minimize peoples' losses, and prepare them for a return to normal life in the near future.

This photo taken on Feb. 18, 2023 shows earthquake debris in Adiyaman, Türkiye. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 18, 2023 shows damaged vehicles in Adiyaman, Türkiye. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 18, 2023 shows earthquake debris in Adiyaman, Türkiye. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

A worker transfers furniture from a residential building that was damaged during the earthquake in Hama, central Syria, on Feb. 18, 2023.(Str/Xinhua)

Excavators clear earthquake debris in Adiyaman, Türkiye, Feb. 18, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)