Earthquake in Morocco 2023
The complicated rescue effort continues as questions remain about the king’s and government’s response
Tuesday 12 September 2023 4.39pm BST
Hopes of finding earthquake survivors trapped under their homes in some of the most remote parts of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains quickly faded as rescue efforts continued into the fourth day.
Search and rescue teams were still trying to reach the smallest hamlets and villages in the mountainous Al Haouz region, near the epicenter of the magnitude 6.8 quake that struck on Friday evening.
Moroccan forces have set up field hospitals in the earthquake zone and flown helicopters over the peaks to distribute aid and transport the wounded.
“It is clear that over time the chance of finding survivors among the rubble decreases,” said Moulay Hafid Alaoui, the Moroccan Red Cross head for Marrakech-Safi. He pointed to access problems along damaged mountain roads.
As complicated rescue efforts continued and the death toll rose to nearly 3,000 and more than 5,000 were injured, questions remained about the nature of the state’s response. Morocco’s King Mohammed VI returned from France on Saturday to chair an afternoon disaster management meeting with the Cabinet, but has not spoken directly to the public.
According to state media, the king arrived in Marrakech, the closest major city to the earthquake zone, on Tuesday evening and visited earthquake victims at their bedside. But there was little evidence of a royal visit to the impoverished Al Haouz region, which was worst hit by the disaster.
Morocco: Emergency services struggle to reach remote villages during rescue operations – video
Hassan Aourid, one of Morocco’s most prominent intellectuals and a former palace spokesman, spoke to the Guardian from the foothill town of Amizmiz while volunteering for rescue operations.
“Initially there was a feeling among the population that they were left to fend for themselves because it is a mountainous region with many areas that are extremely difficult to access,” he said. “People felt abandoned, although this was not the case thanks to the deployment of the armed forces, which also brought first responders and set up hospitals.
“Without question there is a sense of calm now, people are much more reassured after the king’s emergency meeting,” he added, referring to the disaster relief meeting that took place a few days earlier.
Moroccan public television broadcast footage on Sunday of a meeting between the interior minister, the army, health ministers and local authorities in the administrative center of the Al Haouz region. Cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, who comes from a southern province also hit by the earthquake, have yet to visit the public in Al Haouz.
Morocco earthquake survivors are calling for more help after entire villages were destroyed
Observers such as Samia Errazzouki, an expert on the history and governance of the Moroccan state at Stanford University in California, said government ministers were trying to respond to the crisis while ensuring their work did not overshadow the palace’s efforts.
The king has been accused for years of ruling the country from France, where he reportedly owns a 10-bedroom mansion near the Eiffel Tower and a castle northeast of Paris, despite strained diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“The state is basically a reflection of the ineffectiveness of the Moroccan government, as it relies solely on the authoritarian structure of a very absent figure,” Errazzouki said.
Speaking to CNN, Khalid Zerouali, a Moroccan Interior Ministry official, dismissed questions about whether the king would visit the earthquake zone or even make any further public statements, instead pointing to last weekend’s emergency meeting.
“It is a time of actions, not words, and we are working under His Majesty’s instructions and leadership… he has been working closely and following what is happening on the ground minute by minute,” he said.
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