An aftershock shook Moroccans on Sunday as they mourned victims of the country’s strongest earthquake in more than a century and tried to rescue survivors as soldiers and aid workers raced to devastated mountain villages. More than 2,100 people lost their lives in the disaster – a number that is expected to increase.
The United Nations estimated that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night’s 6.8 magnitude tremor, and some Moroccans took to social media to complain that the government was not allowing more outside aid. International relief teams were on standby, but some felt frustrated waiting for the government to officially request help.
“We know that there is a very urgent need to rescue people and to dig under the remains of buildings,” said Arnaud Fraisse, founder of Saviors Without Borders, whose team is stuck in Paris waiting for the green light. “People are dying under the rubble and there is nothing we can do to save them.”
Aid was slow to arrive in Amizmiz, where an entire section of the town of orange and red sandstone brick houses carved into the mountainside appears to be missing. The minaret of a mosque collapsed.
Rescue teams recover a body from the rubble after a deadly earthquake in Ouirgane, Morocco, September 10, 2023. HANNAH MCKAY / Portal
“It’s a disaster,” said 28-year-old villager Salah Ancheu. “We don’t know what the future holds. Aid remains insufficient.”
Aid was slow to arrive in Amizmiz, where an entire section of the town of orange and red sandstone brick houses carved into the mountainside appears to be missing. The minaret of a mosque collapsed.
“It’s a disaster,” said 28-year-old villager Salah Ancheu. “We don’t know what the future holds. Aid remains insufficient.”
Those who were homeless – or fearful of more aftershocks – slept outside on Saturday, on the streets of the ancient city of Marrakesh or under makeshift canopies in hard-hit towns in the Atlas Mountains like Moulay Brahim. The worst of the destruction occurred in rural communities, which are difficult to reach because the roads winding through the mountainous terrain were covered with fallen rocks.
A magnitude 3.9 aftershock struck those areas again on Sunday, according to the US Geological Survey. It wasn’t immediately clear if it caused more damage or casualties, but it was likely powerful enough to shake nerves in areas where damage has left buildings unstable and residents feared aftershocks.
Friday’s earthquake collapsed buildings not strong enough to withstand such a powerful tremor, leaving people trapped in the rubble and others fleeing in horror. A total of 2,122 people were confirmed dead and at least 2,421 others were injured – 1,404 of them critically, the Interior Ministry reported.
Most of the dead – 1,351 – were in the Al Haouz district in the High Atlas, the ministry said.
Flags were lowered across Morocco when King Mohammed VI. ordered a three-day national mourning starting on Sunday. The army mobilized search and rescue teams and the king ordered water, food rations and shelter to be sent to those who had lost their homes.
He also demanded that mosques pray for the victims on Sunday, many of whom were buried in the frenetic rescue work nearby on Saturday.
However, according to aid organizations, Morocco has not issued an international call for help, as Turkey did in the hours after a severe tremor earlier in the year.
Offers of help poured in from around the world, and the United Nations said it had a team in Morocco coordinating international support. About 100 teams with a total of 3,500 rescuers are registered with a UN platform and are ready to be deployed in Morocco on request, said Rescuers Without Borders. Germany had kept a team of more than 50 rescuers waiting near Cologne-Bonn Airport but sent them home, the dpa news agency reported.
A Spanish search and rescue team arrived in Marrakesh and headed to rural Talat N’Yaaqoub, signaling that Morocco may be ready to accept more help, Spain’s military emergency unit said. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in a radio interview that the Moroccan authorities had asked for help. Another rescue team from Nice, France was also on the way.
In France, which has many ties to Morocco and says four of its citizens died in the quake, cities and towns have offered more than two million euros ($2.1 million) in aid. Popular artists collect donations.
A Spanish search and rescue team arrived in Marrakesh and headed to rural Talat N’Yaaqoub, signaling that Morocco may be ready to accept more help, Spain’s military emergency unit said. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in a radio interview that the Moroccan authorities had asked for help. Another rescue team from Nice, France was also on the way.
In France, which has many ties to Morocco and says four of its citizens died in the quake, cities and towns have offered more than two million euros ($2.1 million) in aid. Popular artists collect donations.
There was little time for mourning as survivors tried to salvage something from the damaged homes.
Khadija Fairouje’s face was swollen from crying as she joined relatives and neighbors lugging belongings through stone-strewn streets. She had lost her daughter and three grandchildren, aged 4 to 11, when their home collapsed while they slept less than 48 hours earlier.