Search and rescue operations continue in Morocco today (Tuesday), to find survivors and provide assistance to hundreds of displaced people who have lost their homes, despite the fading of hopes more than 72 hours after the devastating earthquake that left about 2,900 dead, according to Agence France-Presse.
Moroccan television said today that the death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck the country last Friday evening had risen to 2,901 people, according to the Arab World News Agency.
State television added that the total number of people injured by the earthquake reached 5,530.
The intensity of the earthquake that struck central Morocco reached seven degrees on the Richter scale, and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks, causing the collapse of many buildings in a number of regions and provinces.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Al Haouz province, which extends mostly over the High Atlas Mountains, where landslides made it difficult to reach the affected villages.
Moroccan rescue personnel, with the support of foreign teams, are trying to speed up search operations to find potential survivors and provide shelter for hundreds of families who lost their homes.
But in some remote and isolated areas, residents say they are left to their fate.
A man looks at the ruins of houses in the village of Talat Nicoub, south of Marrakesh (AFP)
In the village of Imoulas, located in the High Atlas Mountains, residents appear lost amid the ruins of their homes.
“We feel completely abandoned here, no one has come to help us,” says Khadija, who lives in this hard-to-reach village, hiding her face with her veil. Our homes have collapsed and we have nowhere to go. Where will all these poor people live?
For his part, Muhammad Aitelkid said while standing amid the rubble: “The state did not come. We did not see anyone. After the earthquake, they came to count the number of victims. Since then, only one of them remained. No civil defense or auxiliary personnel came. “No one is with us.”
Agence France-Presse reporters saw helicopters making round trips to deliver food to earthquake survivors in some small, remote villages.
Rescuers search among the rubble for survivors in Al Haouz Province in Morocco after the earthquake (AFP)
Solutions for sheltering the homeless
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.
Meanwhile, access to villages closest to the epicenter remains 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.
If organizing treatment operations was difficult at first, as members of the medical staff explained, they also faced the challenge of providing medicine stocks.
For his part, the coordinator of Doctors Without Borders in France, Jean Johnson, said that “things seem fine regarding the amount of medical equipment, and the Moroccans know what needs to be done,” waiting for a green light from the authorities to intervene.
He added: “They have everything necessary for initial treatments, but there is a shortage of trauma treatment supplies (such as anti-tetanus vaccines or painkillers)….”
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.
French press correspondents reported that Spanish rescue personnel arrived in two areas struck by the earthquake south of Marrakesh, namely the Nicoub and Amizmiz hills in the Al Haouz province.
The head of the Spanish team, Anika Cole, said: “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.”
She added: “It is difficult to say whether the chances of finding survivors are diminishing, because for example, in Turkey (which was struck by a very violent earthquake in February) we were able to find a woman alive after 6 and a half days. “There is always hope.”
She continued: “It is also important to find the bodies because the families must know.”
The earthquake that occurred on Friday-Saturday 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 tremor ever measured in Morocco.
Morocco is generally not accustomed to devastating earthquakes. This most violent earthquake was considered “exceptional,” given its epicenter located 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 more than 15,000 dead, or a third of the city’s population.
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2023-09-12 12:53:45
