Earthquake brings new devastation to war-ravaged Syria

The 7.8-magnitude quake has piled further misery on rebel-held areas in Syria's northwest, threatening a new humanitarian crisis exacerbated by winter and civil war.

Families who had so far managed to survive Syria's decadelong civil war saw their already-battered homes come crashing down around them Monday.

“This time they didn’t escape," said Abdulkafi Alhamdo, a resident of the area who sent a video to NBC News hours after a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the region.

The quake has piled further misery on rebel-held Syrian towns and nearby areas, threatening a new humanitarian crisis exacerbated by winter and war. It reduced homes to rubble as residents slept in the bitter winter cold that has enveloped the country’s northwest.

Alhamdo stood against a gray horizon littered with the remains of what used to be the heart of a town, gesturing to the wreckage around Atareb’s market.

“They are just underground. People are under the rubble,” he said.