Recovery continues in Turkey and Syria after devastating earthquake

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake in southwest Turkey and northern Syria 13 days ago, in a matter of moments, erased more lives than some wars over years of battle. There will be no way to tell how many until relief workers finish recovering the remains from the rubble. That may take weeks or more, but the toll has already climbed past 41,000. More than 5 million people may have been left without homes, according to the U.N.

Stories and pictures of near-miracle rescues have been heartening, but the pace of the world’s response has been anything but. Hampered by remoteness and Syria’s civil war, help has been slow to arrive.