A Syrian earthquake survivor says he's haunted by the screams of those trapped under the rubble: 'These cries are in my ears'

• A Syrian survivor of the deadly earthquake says he's haunted by the screams of those trapped.
• "These cries are in my ears," teacher and activist Abdulkafi Alhamdo told the "Today" show.

A Syrian survivor of the deadly earthquakes that left parts of war-torn Syria and Turkey in total ruin said that he couldn't sleep after hearing the screams of those trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.

"We were working hard to try to take these people out," teacher and activist Abdulkafi Alhamdo said during an interview on NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday. "We were hearing voices from under the rubble. We were hearing people scream messages from under the rubble."

Alhamdo said that he and other rescuers "couldn't do anything" due to a lack of emergency equipment to help those who are trapped.

"I couldn't sleep. These cries are in my ears. I couldn't sleep at night because they are still in my ears," Alhamdo said.

—TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 7, 2023

He added, "When you know that there are some people two meters from you and you cannot help, that's so difficult for me and for anyone."

A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, killing more than 5,000 people, injuring thousands, and leveling thousands of buildings.

Roughly nine hours after the quake struck, a second 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit, adding to the devastation, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Alhamdo said just before the initial quake hit, he was home with his family in the town of Darat Izza when his young daughter came into his bedroom with a toothache.

"I just told her to come lay beside me," Alhamdo said, explaining how just a "few moments after" everything "began to move."

"I heard the tremor," said Alhamdo. His daughter asked if it could have been caused by an attack by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Then the shaking got "longer and stronger," Alhamdo said, adding that he then "knew" it was not an attack.

Alhamdo's family survived the earthquake, but he said the country is left in ruins.

"It's already devastated, even before the earthquake," he said. "Now it's just devastated double time."