In Morocco, searches continue for survivors of the Al Haouz earthquake, and according to the latest figures, the death toll has reached about 3,000, while the number of wounded has reached 5,000.
The Moroccan authorities use helicopters, drones, and large numbers of army personnel to carry out rescue and ambulance operations and provide basic supplies in stricken mountainous areas in the provinces of Al Haouz, Marrakesh, Chichaoua, Taroudant, and Ouarzazate.
Many survivors face difficult conditions in the temporary shelters they are sheltering in after spending a fourth night in the open.
This earthquake is the deadliest in terms of death toll in the North African country since 1960 and the strongest in more than a century.
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Rescue teams from Spain, Britain and Qatar joined Moroccan search efforts for survivors, and Italy, Belgium, France and Germany said that Morocco had not yet agreed to their offers to provide assistance.
But despair gripped people in remote areas isolated by landslides caused by the earthquake, and relief efforts intensified in accessible places by setting up shelter camps and distributing food and water.
Mehdi Ait Bouali, 24, was camping along the Tizi-Natast road, which connects the remote valleys to Marrakesh, with a few other survivors who had also fled their destroyed villages.
He added: “The villages of the valley have been forgotten. We need any kind of assistance. We need tents.”
The official Moroccan news agency said that King Mohammed VI visited the University Hospital Center (Mohammed VI) in Marrakesh, 72 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake, to meet the injured and donate blood there, in his first television appearance since the earthquake.
State media said on Saturday that he chaired a meeting to allocate aid funds but did not give a public speech about the disaster.
Hopes of finding survivors fading
Hamid Ait Bouali (40 years old) was also camping on the side of the road.
Hamid said: “The authorities are focusing on the larger neighborhoods and not on the most affected remote villages. There are some villages where the dead are still under the rubble.”
Hopes of finding survivors have faded due to, among other things, the large number of traditional brick houses spread in the High Atlas region, because after they collapse, they turn into piles of dust, leaving no openings for air to penetrate.
Many village residents have suffered from power outages and telephone communications since the earthquake, and they said that they had to rescue their loved ones and retrieve bodies buried under the rubble of their destroyed homes without any help.
Citizens also volunteered to help, such as Ibrahim Al-Daldali (36 years old), who came from Marrakesh on his motorcycle to distribute food, water, clothes and blankets donated by his friends and strangers.
The residents of the village of Katou, which was destroyed by the earthquake, were lucky to all survive because they preferred to enjoy traditional music in an outdoor courtyard at a village wedding rather than sitting in their homes built of stone and mud brick.
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2023-09-13 12:39:32
