Rescuers in Morocco are racing against the clock to find survivors in the rubble and reach isolated communities after Friday’s powerful earthquake. At least 2,497 people are confirmed dead and 2,476 injured, according to state media. Authorities warn the death toll is still expected to rise.
As CNN reports, Friday’s disastrous quake is the worst to hit Morocco in more than 60 years, according to EM-DAT, an international disaster database. It is also the strongest in magnitude on its land territory in more than a century.
While casualties are still being updated, it has already become the third deadliest earthquake in North Africa since at least 1900, EM-DAT data shows. In 1960, a 5.8 magnitude quake in Morocco with an epicenter in Adagir led to at least 12,000 deaths and 25,000 injuries. And in 1980, a 7.1 magnitude ground movement in Algeria followed by a tsunami caused more than 2,600 deaths and huge damage.
The worst destruction has been in isolated mountain areas, which are difficult to access. Residents have described whole villages suffering damage and rescuers unable to retrieve bodies from the rubble. The epicenter was not far from the popular tourist and economic hub Marrakech. Many residents slept on the streets, too afraid to return to their homes, and historic sites have been damaged.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI declared three days of mourning and ordered mosques nationwide to hold funeral prayers on Sunday. Initial first aid — some tents, and food and water — also arrived in some villages on Sunday, some 36 hours after the earthquake hit late on Friday night.
Half the residents of the village in Ouirgane are now camping out in a little grove just off the main road. About 300 people are staying here, according to Hmed Elmouden, one of the locals. “We have nothing left, the house is completely gone,” Elmouden told CNN. “I have no idea what will happen next. Rebuilding takes a long time, look at Turkey,” he said.
Most of the houses in Moroccan villages are completely uninhabitable. Many have collapsed, and the ones that are still standing are dangerously unstable. Some of the buildings look like they have unfolded, with entire walls missing, exposing the remnants of the inside.
The villagers are staying away from the buildings, afraid they could crumble at any time. There is no water at the moment, as the pipes have been damaged. “We are just waiting. There’s nothing else we can do,”
says Asni village resident Ibrahim Goodman.
Here’s how to help victims of the earthquake in Morocco.
—
Photo Credit: Fernando Astasio Avila / Shutterstock.com