Rescue work
After the earthquake in Morocco: Many land routes still blocked
A woman sits in rubble in Imi N’tala, outside Marrakech. photo
© Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP/dpa
In earthquake-hit Morocco, many people are still waiting for support. Many villages remain cut off from supplies. Help is now coming from the air.
Efforts to clear boulders from roads have been slow because of the ongoing threat of rockfall in some areas, a dpa reporter reported on Wednesday. A lot of blankets and food have already been delivered to the disaster region. However, many of the isolated people are asking authorities and aid workers to provide tents to protect them from the bitter cold at night.
The DRK sends the first aid transport
The German Red Cross (DRK) is now sending the first aid transport to the earthquake areas. On Thursday morning, a plane will take off from Leipzig/Halle Airport with a total of 36.6 tons of relief supplies, as the DRK announced on Wednesday. These include more than 3,000 insulating floor mats and 550 family tents.
According to information from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), around 100,000 children are affected by the disaster. Thousands of houses in the country were destroyed. As a result, many families have become homeless and have to spend the currently cold nights outdoors.
The Moroccan government is under increasing pressure to accept more international aid. So far, the North African country has only officially accepted support from four countries.
Light rain is expected in the disaster area on Wednesday and Thursday. Even light rainfall could hamper rescue and relief efforts in the hardest-hit region of the Atlas Mountains “and also endanger residents who have been without shelter since Friday,” the Hespress news portal reported. The weather office contradicted rumors that it would rain heavily.
There is hardly any hope of finding survivors
King Mohammed VI Meanwhile, visited a hospital with injured people in Marrakech on Tuesday, as reported by the MAP news agency. The 60-year-old head of state donated blood for the victims.
According to the Moroccan Interior Ministry, 2,946 dead and 5,674 injured have been counted so far. The numbers are likely to continue to rise. The hope of finding survivors is now vanishingly small.
The quake on late Friday evening was the worst in Morocco in decades. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 300,000 people in Marrakech and surrounding areas are affected by the accident.