The vice president of the Red Cross in Quebec, Pascal Mathieu, reiterated that “after an earthquake of this magnitude it will take years before people can recover.”
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In an interview on LCN, Mr Mathieu compares the devastating earthquake in Morocco to the Lac-Mégantic train derailment.
AFP
He says that on a visit to this small town in Canada – “a country of great resources” – he found that after ten years of rebuilding, “the community was just beginning to recover.”
A comparison that gives us an idea of the years of reconstruction that await the North African country.
The vice-president of the Red Cross in Quebec explains that a recovery plan consists of “rebuilding infrastructure; Rebuild habitats, i.e. houses, places where people live; and sometimes rebuild the economic structure.”
However, he reiterates that the most urgent thing right now is to “save lives”.
AFP
On the ground, Moroccan Red Crescent teams are “providing first aid to the injured, evacuating the injured and assisting the Moroccan authorities in evacuating the population in the most vulnerable areas,” the Red Cross member said.
Pascal Mathieu also states that international aid to various countries around the world will be through the actions of the Moroccan Red Crescent.
“It’s always easier when you have a local partner who is already well-established in the country and knows how it works, than coming in from outside like a fly in the ointment,” says Mathieu
Rescuers on Sunday accelerated their search in Morocco to find survivors trapped under the rubble of villages devastated by a powerful earthquake that killed more than 2,100 people southwest of the tourist city of Marrakech.
Rescuers, volunteers and members of the armed forces are working to find survivors and recover bodies from the rubble, particularly in villages in Al-Haouz province, the epicenter of the earthquake south of the tourist city of Marrakesh in the center of the kingdom.
AFP
The earthquake hit late Friday evening with a magnitude of 7 according to the Moroccan Center for Scientific and Technical Research (6.8 according to the American Seismological Service) and is the strongest ever recorded in Morocco.
There were at least 2,122 dead and 2,421 injured, according to a recent Interior Ministry report released this afternoon, which is expected to worsen as research continues.
In the village of Tafeghaghte, which was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake and whose epicenter is only about fifty kilometers away, rescuers were able to recover a body from a destroyed house, according to an AFP team. But four others are still buried under rubble, according to residents.
AFP
“Everyone’s gone, my heart hurts, I’m heartbroken,” bursts into tears Zahra Benbrik, 62, who claims to have lost 18 loved ones.
“The only thing left under the rubble is my brother’s body. “I can’t wait for them to get him out so I can grieve in peace,” she sighs.
According to public television, “more than 18,000 families were affected” by the earthquake in Al-Haouz province, where more than half of the dead (1,351) were lost. Tents were set up in several villages to accommodate these families.
In Marrakesh, many residents rushed to hospitals to donate blood for the victims.
“It’s really nice to see all of this from the citizens, and even foreigners who have nothing to do with the drama here have come to donate blood,” said Youssef Qornafa, a student who donated blood at a center .
AFP
Three days of national mourning were declared on Saturday. Flags on official buildings were lowered and a “prayer of the absent” was said in all mosques across the kingdom for the souls of the victims.
Many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy, have offered their help. Even neighboring Algeria, which has stormy relations with Morocco, has opened its airspace, which has been closed for two years, to flights with aid supplies and the wounded.
Spain sent a team of 56 rescue workers to Morocco after receiving an official request for help from Rabat.
AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was ready to “intervene” to help Morocco if the kingdom’s authorities “deem it useful”.
Israel, which normalized relations with Morocco in 2020, offered to send rescue teams.
The International Red Cross has warned of the importance of Morocco’s future needs: “24 to 48 critical hours” and needs for “months or even years”.
On Saturday evening, television channels broadcast aerial images showing entire villages with mud houses in the Al-Haouz region completely pulverized
AFP
A stone’s throw from Marrakech City Hall, where parts of the historic 12th-century city walls are damaged in places and partially collapsed, some fold their blankets on the lawn where they spent the night.
Maria, a Spanish tourist, spent the night outside the narrow streets of the old town and is preparing to “continue her journey as usual” towards Fes, further north.
AFP
The quake was also felt in Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir and Essaouira, where many panicked residents took to the streets in the middle of the night, fearing their homes would collapse.
This earthquake is the worst in Morocco since the destruction of Agadir on the country’s west coast on February 29, 1960. Almost 15,000 people, or a third of the city’s population, died there.
***Collaboration between Agence France-Presse and TVA Nouvelles***