Morocco earthquake: Search operations continue as hope of finding survivors fades
Search and rescue operations continued in Morocco on Tuesday to find survivors and provide assistance to families who lost their homes, despite the fading of hopes more than 72 hours after the devastating earthquake that left about 2,900 people dead, while the International Red Cross launched an appeal to raise more than $100 million for urgent assistance.
According to Agence France-Presse, rescue personnel in Morocco, with the support of foreign teams and volunteers, are trying to speed up search operations and provide shelter for hundreds of families who have lost their homes.
Concern was evident on the faces of the survivors who managed shelters with their modest means, in the destroyed village of Douzrou, about 80 kilometers south of Marrakesh, in the center of the country.
The reaction of people during the recovery of the body of a woman killed by the earthquake in the town of Imi Natala outside Marrakesh, Morocco, Tuesday, September 12, 2023 (AP)
“We fear the worst”
Villager Ismail Obla (36 years old) says: “We need to be taken care of. We cannot stay out in the open for long. The climatic conditions are very harsh, and we fear the worst as winter approaches.”
Ismail lost three of his children, no more than 8 years old, his pregnant wife, and his mother.
Hussein Benhamou (61 years old), another survivor of the village who lost nine members of his family, confirms: “We want matters to be resolved as quickly as possible. We have lost everything, even livestock… and the dead we took out with our own hands.”
Meanwhile, a unit of 20 British rescuers arrived in the village. Its president, Steve Willett, said: “The residents have managed (their dead), but we will use the dogs to see if there is something else.”
For his part, Lahcen Ouhmane (68 years old) is also concerned about the possibility of rain falling, “which could block the unpaved road, and thus we face the risk of starvation.”
A rescue team recovers the body of a woman killed by the earthquake in the town of Imi Natala outside Marrakesh, Morocco, Tuesday, September 12, 2023 (AP)
This mountain village is located in Al Haouz Province, where the epicenter of the earthquake killed 2,901 people and injured 5,530 others. According to new figures announced on Tuesday. This region extends mostly over the High Atlas Mountains, where landslides have made it difficult to reach the affected villages.
More than half of the dead (1,643) fell in Al Haouz Province, while no new deaths were recorded on Tuesday in the rest of the areas hit by the earthquake, according to what the Ministry of Interior explained, which confirmed that most of the dead were buried.
“We lost everything”
In the town of Amizmiz, dozens of survivors gathered Tuesday around a truck to receive food aid brought by volunteers.
Volunteer Abdel-Ilah Tiba (28 years old) said: “The government is not doing anything, so we took action. It is the people who help, not the government.”
Fatima (39 years old) asked: “We lost everything… What will we do when people stop helping us?” She received canned goods and boxes of biscuits.
AFP reporters saw helicopters making round trips to deliver food to earthquake survivors in some remote hamlets.
The reaction of relatives of an earthquake victim as they stand on the rubble in Ouarkan, Morocco, on September 12, 2023 (EPA)
In Geneva, the International Red Cross issued an appeal on Tuesday to raise more than $100 million to provide the urgent needs of Morocco.
It is hoped that this will enable it to “meet the most urgent needs at this time, which include health, water, sanitation, hygiene, shelter relief materials and basic needs,” according to Caroline Holt, Director of the Disaster, Climate and Crisis Department at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
While UNICEF reported on Tuesday that “about 100,000 children were affected by the earthquake,” explaining that it had “already mobilized humanitarian aid personnel to support the immediate response on the ground led by the Kingdom of Morocco.”
Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said on Monday that residents whose homes were demolished “will receive compensation,” explaining, “There will be a clear presentation that we will try to prepare this week” in this regard.
He pointed out that solutions to shelter the homeless are currently being considered. The government announced the creation of a special fund to confront the repercussions of the disaster, which is open to receiving donations.
“hope”
Access to the villages closest to the epicenter is still difficult due to landslides.
The Moroccan army established field hospitals to treat the wounded in remote areas, such as the village of Asni in the devastated Al Haouz province.
This hospital received more than 300 injured people, according to the doctor, Colonel Youssef Qamous, who spoke to Agence France-Presse.
Residents remove a refrigerator from a collapsed building while searching for survivors in Ouarkan, Morocco, on September 12, 2023 (EPA)
Morocco announced on Sunday evening that it had responded to four offers of assistance made by Britain, Spain, Qatar and the UAE, to confront the repercussions of the earthquake.
The agency’s correspondents reported that rescue personnel from Spain arrived in two areas struck by the earthquake south of Marrakesh, namely Talat Niaqoub and Amizmiz in the Al Haouz province.
The head of the Spanish team, Anika Cole, told the agency: “The great difficulty lies in remote areas that are difficult to reach, as is the case in this place, and the wounded are transported by helicopter.” “There is always hope” of finding survivors, she added.
The earthquake that occurred on Friday night, with a magnitude of 7 according to the Moroccan Center for Scientific and Technical Research (6.8 according to the US Geological Survey), is the strongest earthquake ever measured in Morocco.
Morocco is generally not accustomed to devastating earthquakes. This most violent earthquake was considered “exceptional.” Given its location in the heart of the High Atlas Mountains, especially since the affected geographical area is vast.
On February 29, 1960, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake destroyed the city of Agadir, located on the country’s western coast, leaving between 12 and 15 thousand dead, a third of the city’s population.
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2023-09-12 22:33:24
