A new balance issued this Sunday late afternoon counted 2,122 deaths and 2,421 injuries as a result of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday, with its epicenter in the town of Ighil, 63 kilometers southwest from Marrakech.
Rescue operations continued this Sunday, but the international teams that made themselves available were still waiting for the green light from Rabat to enter the field – and this wait has already led to protests from Moroccan citizens on social media. Morocco has only accepted help “at this stage” from four countries: Spain, Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
According to Arnaud Fraisse, from the organization Saviors without bordersOne hundred teams, with a total of 3,500 members from all over the world, are registered on the United Nations platform, ready to leave for Morocco as soon as permission is obtained from the Moroccan authorities. According to Associated pressthe 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 during the day. 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.
The Portuguese Prime Minister stressed that Portugal has civil protection and forensic medicine teams ready to support Morocco. “We have already made available to the Kingdom of Morocco Portugal’s full availability to participate in whatever support it deems necessary. So far we have not been asked for any support, but we have it available, both in the field of civil protection and in the field of forensic medicine. We have teams ready to support the Kingdom of Morocco if there is a request in this regard,” he stated.
On Saturday evening, the Portuguese Air Force removed 102 Portuguese citizens from Morocco who requested help to leave the country. Among them, an adult and a child (father and son) were injured. One of the repatriated tourists, Filipa Marques, told Lusa on Friday evening about her experience in Jamma El-Fna Square, one of the most tourist attractions in Marrakech, when the earthquake occurred. “The ground started shaking, people panicked, everything started moving,” he said, reporting that he was right next to the minaret of the Kharbouch Mosque, which partially collapsed. ‘We got there two minutes earlier. The minaret fell and cars were buried.”
As she added, she stayed in a ‘riad’ (small hotel). Because debris from the collapsed facades made access to the accommodation difficult – and out of fear that the replicas would collapse the building – he decided to spend the night outside in the square, sleeping on a rug.
On reconstruction support, the African Development Bank, through its President, Akinwumi Adesina, announced its availability to “contribute resources and expertise to help rebuild affected infrastructure in communities.”
In the Vatican, Pope Francis asked at the end of Sunday’s Angelus prayer “that concrete help from everyone can support the population at this tragic moment.”
Source: DN
