A satellite image shows collapsed buildings, following a powerful earthquake, in Moulay Brahim, Morocco September 10, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. DO NOT OBSCURE LOGO.
Morocco is racing against the clock to rescue its citizens who are trapped beneath the debris of a building that collapsed following Friday’s destructive earthquake. Emergency services are working tirelessly to coordinate disaster relief efforts in remote regions, despite facing challenges with connectivity caused by blocked roads strewn with rubble from collapsed structures and rocks in the rugged mountainous terrain.
Reports said that villagers have been digging through the rubble by shovel and hand. The emergency responders have been reportedly struggling to bring in machinery in the remote mountainous areas.
People “have nothing left,” a villager from a village in the south of Marrakesh was quoted as saying by the BBC.
“People are starving. Children want water. They need help.”
A CNN report cited an account of people pulling alive six people out of the rubble of a hotel in Sami Sensis village in Moroccan Atlas Mountains, reflecting the race against time the locals have been up against in the face of the disaster due to difficulties faced by the emergency responders to access the area.
People “have nothing left,” a villager from a village in the south of Marrakesh was quoted as saying by the BBC.
“People are starving. Children want water. They need help.”
A CNN report cited an account of people pulling alive six people out of the rubble of a hotel in Sami Sensis village in Moroccan Atlas Mountains, reflecting the race against time the locals have been up against in the face of the disaster due to difficulties faced by the emergency responders to access the area.
The roads in High Atlas mountains were already poorly maintained and the fallen rocks that fell on the roads have totally blocked the connectivity to the region.
International efforts to aid Morocco earthquake response
Meanwhile, the international efforts to aid the recovery have started to increase in pace.
The United Kingdom will deploy emergency response teams, including rescue specialists, a medical team, search dogs and equipment.
Spain and Qatar too would send search and rescue teams.
The complex geopolitics in the region has also unraveled itself in the face of humanitarian crisis. Algeria, which broke all diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021 opened up its airspace for the humanitarian aid going to and from Morocco.
