MAR­RAKESH FEELS NEW TREMORS AS EARTHQUAKE DEATH TOLL REACHES 2,012

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  People recite a prayer in front of the bodies of victims killed in Moulay Brahim [Fadel Senna/AFP]

Sun 10  September 2023:

Earthquake rescue efforts have continued in Morocco as it mourned the victims of a disaster that killed more than 2,000 people, flattening buildings in cities and villages.

Morocco’s Interior Ministry says the death toll in the disaster has climbed to 2,012 people.

In a statement, the ministry added that 2,059 people had been injured in the earthquake, including 1,404 in critical condition.

Al-Haouz province, at the epicentre of the earthquake, suffered the most deaths with 1,293 followed by the province of Taroudant with 452.

The village of Tafeghaghte, 60km south-west of Marrakech, was almost entirely destroyed, with the quake’s epicentre about 50km away. AFP journalists reported very few buildings still standing.

Morocco has declared three days of national mourning over the deadly quake, according to a statement released Saturday evening.

The national flag will be flown at half-staff throughout the country, the royal court said in its statement.

The armed forces will deploy rescue teams to provide affected areas with clean drinking water, food, tents and blankets, it said.

Morocco’s geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area with a magnitude of 7.2. The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5km (11.5 miles).

Philippe Vernant – a specialist in active tectonics, particularly in Morocco, at the University of Montpellier – told Agence France-Presse that even though the quake did not hit in Morocco’s most active seismological region, aftershocks could be expected. “Even if they are less strong, they can lead to the collapse of buildings already weakened by the earthquake. Traditionally, we tend to say that aftershocks diminish in intensity.”

The tremor was also felt in the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir and Essaouira, where many panicked residents took to the streets in the middle of the night, fearing that their homes would collapse.

‘People bringing their injured relatives to Marrakesh’

Reporting from Marrakesh, Al Jazeera’s Omar Al Haj says people have been bringing their injured relatives to the city from other areas, while others are still waiting for news on their loved ones stuck under the rubble.

He also said there is an expectation that the death toll will increase as there are a lot of people in critical condition.

“National rescue teams are at work in the affected areas, whether al-Haouz or others, the operations are difficult because of the complex geographic nature of some areas,” our correspondent added.

“There are foreign teams who have already arrived to help,” he said, adding that aid has also arrived from neighbouring European and Arab countries.

Aftershocks remain under magnitude of three: Official

Hani Lahsan, the head of seismic monitoring and warning department in Morocco, says that aftershocks continue in the affected region, without surpassing the magnitude of three.

He said the strength of these shocks do not form any danger and is mostly not felt by residents, adding: “The danger drops through time. It is a positive indication.”

There still remains the danger over the buildings that were affected by the original earthquake as they could collapse due to ongoing aftershocks in time, Lahsan said.

Morocco’s national football team donates blood

Players from Morocco’s national football team have donated blood to help victims of the earthquake, according to a video posted on the team’s Facebook page.

Player Achraf Hakimi made a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, urging others to donate as well.

Translation:

“Right now, the priority is to provide blood to those in a critical situation. Blood donation is everyone’s responsibility to save as many lives as possible. Your help is essential.

At this time, the priority is to donate blood to people in critical condition. Blood donation is everybody’s responsibility to save as many souls as possible. Your help is essential.”

On Saturday, the Marrakesh Regional Blood Transfusion Centre called for blood donations as the city reeled from the impact of the deadly quake.

Citizens waited in long lines to donate blood, as ambulances continued to arrive at the emergency department at the Mohammed VI University Hospital Center in Marrakesh.

This earthquake is the deadliest in Morocco since the 1960 quake that destroyed Agadir and killed 15,000 people, a third of the city’s population. In 1980, the 7.3-magnitude El Asnam earthquake in neighbouring Algeria killed 2,500 people and left at least 300,000 homeless.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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