A shocked woman woke up to 'the whole room shaking' in one of the world's deadliest earthquakes. Catriona Macdonald, a carer who lives in Radford, has opened up after witnessing the powerful quake which shook Turkey and Syria.
The 44-year-old flew from England to visit her boyfriend in Diyarbakır, situated in south-eastern Turkey, on February 2. Little did she know that a few days later she would wake up to a natural disaster that made families homeless and killed more than 40,000 people to date.
Ms Macdonald said she and her boyfriend were staying in a hotel and got woken up by the shaking at around 4am on Monday, February 6. The initial noise was followed by a gunshot to alert people to come out of their homes.
READ MORE: Nottingham dad loses 6 family members in 'devastating' Turkey-Syria earthquake
She told Nottinghamshire Live: "I was woken up by the shaking and the banging on the door. It was awful. And then all the electricity stopped. I was in the darkness and my boyfriend just held me and told me 'it is okay'.
"It felt like it went on for a long time and then eventually stopped. We got dressed and ran downstairs and then all these people were already out in the street."
The terrified couple returned to their room a while after. "My boyfriend told me that there might be another one," Ms Macdonald added.
"We actually laid on top of the bed with our clothes and shoes on. It was terrifying. We went back to sleep and then I was woken again by all the wardrobe doors - and then we went outside again and I could feel all the tremors."
Ms Macdonald said she was "scared for my life" as the ordeal unfolded in front of her. "I could see the cracks on the walls in our room after the first earthquake.
"I could not sleep at all. It was so scary - it was a nightmare. It brought my vertigo on as well from all that shaking."
She described seeing a tall, nine storey building, crushed to only three storeys in height. Recalling what happened brought her to tears, and she added: "There were people trapped there. The community worked hard day and night, drilling and scooping to rescue them.
"I was told that there were more than 20 people buried there. I have heard that villages in the area just got wiped out.
"My boyfriend's brother said that some of them are now ghost towns." Alongside her boyfriend and his friends, Ms Macdonald said they all contributed to feed the families who were made homeless after the tragedy. She spent around £85 to buy chicken, rice and water bottles for the community.
Ms Macdonald added: "My boyfriend's friend organised a few events to actually help feed all the homeless people there. People were sitting around fires in the freezing cold. It was snowing as well.
"We actually bought loads of chicken and rice and fed about 150 people," she added. Footage taken by Ms Macdonald shows the aftermath of the disaster in Turkey.
Families were filmed gathering around fires to keep them warm. Members of the community in Diyarbakırm, which is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey, have used the chicken to make a "massive pot" of food for the homeless people.
Ms Macdonald added: "The hotel where we stayed actually opened its doors to homeless people. I could hear children crying. I could feel the tremors of the earthquakes every few minutes. It was chaos.
"It was something out of a horror movie. Lots of people were crying, many of them were very hungry, sat around the fire."
She described it as the "most frightening experience of my life", which has affected her mental health when she came back home. "I was supposed to fly back on Friday, but I came back on Monday and I think that is when it hit me.
"I cried while on the plane. I feel like I have got my depression coming back. I have been waking up with a horrible sick feeling in my stomach. I just keep breaking down and cryIng and I just felt like I need to take some time off work."
But Ms Macdonald said she plans to move to Turkey in November. She said she wants to be close to her boyfriend who she met on a holiday in October last year.
Asked if the tragedy has changed her future plans, Ms Macdonald added: "It is a risk I will take for love. I love him. He is also Kurdish, and Kurdish people are just the loveliest people."
Earthquake survivor Ms Macdonald is now raising money for the community in Diyarbakırm, who are in "dire need of help". Click here to donate towards her cause.
A statement on the page reads: "Everyday since the earthquake has been a mystery as to where shelter, food and clothes is coming from. I know that efforts are being made to help the people of Turkey however as I've just left the region I can say that more help is needed.
"When I was in Diyarbakır I used all of my travel money to buy food and supplies for my fiance and neighbours whom where in dire need. I know we are living in a financially hectic time however I need your help to help me make a difference."
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