Barely three days after the devastating earthquake in Morocco, time is running out: the probability of finding survivors is getting smaller and smaller. Soldiers and rescue teams continue to try to get to the mountain villages that are difficult to access.
Half a week after the severe earthquake in Morocco, hope of finding any survivors is dwindling. The search for hundreds of missing people continues in hard-to-reach areas. For the emergency services, it’s a race against time: experts give a guideline of 72 hours during which a person can survive at most without water.
According to official information to date, at least 2,862 people have died across the country. As the Interior Ministry announced on Monday evening, at least 2,562 other people were injured. The magnitude 6.8 earthquake – the worst in Morocco in decades – struck late Friday evening. The epicenter was southwest of Marrakech. Since then, the North African country has been hit by further aftershocks.
Soldiers try to penetrate remote mountain villages
Soldiers try to advance into remote mountain villages with the support of foreign aid teams. Bulldozers have to be used to clear roads of debris in the rugged terrain so that ambulances can get through after landslides. Survivors desperately hoped for help in finding missing relatives who were suspected to be under the rubble.
The authorities have now set up field hospitals near the epicenter to care for the injured, Justice Minister Abdel Latif Wehbe told the Arabic television station Al-Arabiya. The exact number of deaths and damages cannot be clarified at the moment. On Monday, military helicopters dropped aid packages over areas that were difficult to access. .
Not all international offers of help were accepted
The European Union provided one million euros for humanitarian aid. The money should help cover the most urgent needs of those most affected. The Commission is also in contact with EU states to mobilize emergency teams if Morocco requests it, it said.
France is supporting the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country with five million euros. Germany again offered help to Morocco. So far, however, the government in Rabat has shown no interest in this. However, Morocco thanked us for the offer, said a spokesman for the Foreign Office.
When asked whether the decision not to provide German support could possibly have political reasons, he replied: “I think political reasons can be ruled out in our case.” Diplomatic relations with Morocco are good. The dispute over Western Sahara plunged German-Moroccan relations into a crisis in 2021.
Ministry of Interior justifies selective acceptance of help
Britain is in Morocco with 60 search and rescue experts and equipment as well as four search dogs to support the Moroccan-led operations, as British Ambassador Simon Martin announced on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). A special unit of the Spanish military with search dogs is also involved in the rescue operations.
Although other countries, including Germany, also offered help, Morocco initially only accepted support from four countries. The Interior Ministry said late on Sunday evening that the authorities had carried out a precise assessment of the needs on site. It was taken into account that a lack of coordination in such situations would lead to adverse results. Therefore, they initially “responded to the offers of support from the friendly countries of Spain, Qatar, Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates,” the statement said.
The French aid organization “Secouristes sans frontières” (Saviors Without Borders), which specializes in rescuing people trapped under rubble, has since withdrawn an offer to send a nine-member rescue team to Morocco after waiting unsuccessfully for the green light for the operation had. Founder Arnaud Fraisse told the AP news agency: “Our role is not to find bodies.”
Government announces aid fund for the population
The aid organization Care said that in addition to humanitarian aid, the population now primarily needed psychological support. “In addition to the enormous physical devastation, the emotional damage caused by the horror experienced and the fear endured is also very serious,” explained Hlima Razkaoui, Secretary General of Care Morocco.
The government in Morocco announced a special fund for the needy population. This was intended, among other things, to cover costs for securing damaged houses, the news website “Hespress” reported, citing a government spokesman. There was initially no information on the amount of the aid fund.
Strongest earthquake in Morocco in 120 years
The United Nations estimates that about 300,000 people were affected by the magnitude 6.8 quake, made more dangerous by its relatively shallow depth. According to USGS data, it was the strongest quake in the country in more than 120 years.
The destruction was greatest in the Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz province in the Atlas Mountains, where houses collapsed and steep winding roads were clogged with rubble. In some cases, the residents of the region cleared away boulders themselves.