It was the morning of Feb 6, at 4:25am, and I was in the city of Salqin in the countryside of Idlib, northwestern Syria.
When the earthquake started, I thought it would last for a few seconds as usual. But not this time. The house started to shake, violently.
I ran to my family, opened the door of the house and we ran to the stairs to the bottom of the building. Stones were falling violently from all over the place and the sound of glass breaking was everywhere.
There was also this strange, frightening sound – some said it seemed to be coming from the depths of the earth.
At that moment, I thought that these were the last seconds of my life and that there was no escape.
Members of the Syrian civil defence, known as the White Helmets, sit by a fire as search efforts continue in the village of Salqin Credit: Mohammed Al-Rifai/AFP
The earthquake lasted for an entire minute and 30 seconds. When it finally ended, my family and I ran into the streets. What followed next were moments I will not forget for the rest of my life.
It was freezing cold, and people outside were naked. There was heavy rain and fog. As we stood there, there was another shake, an aftershock, but this one was weaker. I could hear women and children screaming. It was a terrible sound.
The earthquake had destroyed many residential buildings and killed thousands of people in northwestern Syria. Immediately, the Syrian civil defence teams, known as White Helmets, headed out.
They quickly began rescuing people from under the rubble, and they did almighty work. But unfortunately, they did not have enough heavy equipment. Even so, people rushed out to support the rescue workers, helping them extract the injured.
Recsue teams are still working to extract people from under the rubble Credit: Muhammed Said/Getty Images
My uncle, his wife and his daughter all died in this devastating earthquake. We could only get them out of the rubble after three days.
A very large number of non-residential buildings have also been damaged and the death toll is more than 2,000 in northwestern Syria. A further 1,000 people were injured.
As I write, the White Helmets are still working to extract my neighbours from under the rubble.
Here, people have become very afraid and cannot sleep in their homes. So they have resorted to staying in public places, such as schools, mosques, or camps on the outskirts of the city.
On the first day of the earthquake disaster, Syria immediately requested international assistance. We asked for international rescue teams, heavy equipment, and humanitarian aid, such as milk for children, clothes, heating, tents, and so on.
But, unfortunately, we did not receive any of this assistance at all – even though the border crossings with Turkey are open.
On the first day of the earthquake disaster, Syria immediately requested international humanitarian assistance Credit: Muhammed Said/Getty Images
As a photojournalist, I have been on the scene all week, day and night, covering the story. When I’m not working, I rest in my friend’s car.
There have been some incredible moments, despite all the horror, such as when the White Helmets safely pulled a little girl, Noor, out of the rubble.
They are true heroes, saving lives under the most horrific circumstances but they just don’t have the international support they need.