Engineers count cost of rebuilding in quake-hit, war-weary Syria

The earthquakes that struck northwestern Syria on February 6 destroyed hundreds of residential buildings [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]

Idlib, Syria – Engineers have been painstakingly assessing the safety of buildings in northwestern Syria, which was devastated by earthquakes this month after years of conflict and bombardments that had already destroyed homes and hospitals.

Since the first earthquake struck the Turkey-Syria border region on February 6, hundreds of families in Idlib have been sheltering on agricultural land. Their homes were either flattened or so damaged that they were rendered uninhabitable.