SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 10 October 2024, Thursday |

IFRC makes emergency funding appeal to support Morocco quake victims

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) issued an emergency appeal to raise 100 million Swiss francs ($112.3 million) to assist earthquake victims in Morocco.

“In this appeal, we are seeking 100 million CHF to be able to deliver on the most pressing needs at this time,” IFRC global director for operations Caroline Holt told reporters in Geneva.

“We need to make sure that we avoid a second wave of disaster.”

More than 2,800 people have been killed in Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than six decades, a 6.8 magnitude quake struck late on Friday in the High Atlas Mountains, with the epicentre 72 km (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech.

Holt said that the IFRC had approved 1 million CHF in funding from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund immediately after the earthquake hit to support the Moroccan Red Crescent to provide immediate relief.

“This emergency response, as with many earthquakes, is a marathon,” she said.

“The people affected by the earthquake will need support for the weeks and months to come, and we will need to continue to show that solidarity and support not only now but in the future.”

    Source:
  • Reuters