The earthquake on Friday evening local time is the deadliest earthquake to hit the North African country in decades. The death toll has risen above 2,000, hundreds of others are seriously injured, but the question is to what extent they can receive help. The epicenter of the magnitude 7.2 quake was about 70 kilometers southwest of the city of Marrakech.
Many deaths have been reported in Al-Haouz province. Numerous buildings have collapsed and damaged in the affected areas.
Many of the injured are in very serious condition. According to observers, the death toll from Friday’s earthquake could rise much further. The hardest hit areas are difficult to reach and the villages are unprepared for earthquakes because they have rarely occurred. In mountain villages people are also searching by hand for victims in the rubble.
Aftershocks
Hundreds of aftershocks followed the quake. These are becoming increasingly weaker and may not be felt by citizens. Nacer Jabour, the head of the Moroccan geological institute, said this, according to the Moroccan news agency MAP. The strongest aftershock had a magnitude of 6.0.
The earthquake itself had a magnitude of 7.2, according to the institute. “It is the first time in a century that the institute has recorded such a violent earthquake in Morocco,” said Jabour. A minaret of a mosque has collapsed in the city of Marrakech. The debris lies on parked cars. Images show people fleeing into the streets in panic.
400 kilometers
A resident of a village near the epicenter told Reuters news agency that almost all houses were damaged. There are still people under the rubble in Asni, among other places. “Our neighbors are under the rubble and people in the village are doing everything they can to get them out,” said resident Montasir Itri. Debris is first removed manually, we have to wait for heavier equipment.
According to Jabour, the quake was felt in a radius of 400 kilometers, as far as Algeria and Portugal. A total of about eight to ten million people are said to live in the affected area.
National mourning
Morocco has declared three days of national mourning after the deadly earthquake, according to a statement from the royal palace.
“Three days of national mourning have been decided, during which flags will be flown at half-mast on all public buildings,” said a statement published by the Moroccan news agency MAP.
The statement also said that rescue teams are being deployed to provide affected areas with clean drinking water, food, tents and blankets.
Help from Spain
Spain is sending search and rescue teams and other aid to the earthquake zone in Morocco. Madrid is responding to a formal request for help that came from Rabat on Sunday, reports Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.
The focus is first on finding survivors, but Spain will also help with reconstruction. “It is a sign of Spanish solidarity and a sense of friendship that unites the people of Spain and Morocco,” the minister said in an interview with Catalunya Radio.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had expressed support on Saturday and said he wanted to provide assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake, which was also felt in southern Spain. More and more countries want to help. For example, Algeria keeps its airspace open for all aid flights to Morocco. Diplomatic ties between these two countries were severed in 2021 after a long history of conflict.