Rescue operations for survivors of the earthquake that shook Morocco on Friday evening continue as international aid teams wait for the green light from Rabat’s government to enter the country.
On the ground, the Associated Press agency describes the efforts of Moroccan soldiers and workers to bring water and food to mountain villages left in ruins after the strongest earthquake in more than a hundred years – which left at least 2,012 dead and 2,059 injured. of which 1,404 are in serious condition.
Meanwhile, international aid teams remain “in limbo,” waiting for Moroccan authorities to formally request assistance – a delay that has already sparked some criticism from Moroccan citizens on social media.
Yet humanitarian workers continue to arrive. According to Arnaud Fraisse of the organization Rescuers Without Borders, a hundred teams, with a total of 3,500 members from all over the world, registered on the United Nations platform, are ready to leave for Morocco as soon as there is the green light from the government of Morocco. Rabat.
According to the AP, the United Nations already has a team on the ground, in coordination with local authorities, to assess the international assistance that will be needed.
In response to a bilateral request from Moroccan authorities, Spain also sent an air force plane with 56 soldiers and four dogs specialized in search and rescue operations.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered that water, food and shelter be provided to those who lost their homes, and asked that mosques across the country pray for the victims today.
The Moroccan army mobilized specialized search and rescue teams.
Some shops in Marrakech have already reopened after the king encouraged the resumption of economic activity and ordered reconstruction of destroyed buildings to begin.
But people mainly circulate on the streets, for fear of entering buildings that may still be unstable.
According to the AP, the homeless in Marrakech slept on the streets of the old city, while in the hardest-hit areas of the Atlas Mountains, such as Moulay Brahim, beds were makeshift.
The greatest destruction is taking place in small rural communities, which are difficult for rescuers to reach due to the mountainous terrain.
“We felt a strong shock, it felt like the apocalypse. Ten seconds and everything was gone,” Ayoub Toudite, a resident of Moulay Brahim, told AP.
“I was sleeping when the earthquake happened. I couldn’t escape because the roof fell on me. I was trapped. I was rescued by my neighbors,” said Fatna Bechar, also a resident of Moulay Brahim.
The earthquake in Morocco, whose epicenter was recorded in the town of Ighil, 63 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh, was felt in Portugal and Spain and reached a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale, according to Morocco’s National Institute of Geophysics.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.8.
The Kingdom of Morocco has declared three days of national mourning.
Source: DN
