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A woman and a child sit in the open in Marrakesh, following a powerful earthquake that rocked Morocco on September 9, 2023. Photo/REUTERS/Hannah McKay
OUR MOTHER – The survivors earthquake Of Morocco gathered for the night in the open air in the High Atlas Mountains on Saturday local time, a day after the deadliest earthquake to rock the country in more than six decades killed more than 2,000 people and destroyed villages.
Residents were still searching for survivors buried on the slopes, where houses of mud brick, stone and rough wood were cracked and mosque minarets collapsed in the earthquake that struck late on Friday. The historic old city of Marrakech also suffered extensive damage.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said 2,012 people were killed and 2,059 injured, including 1,404 in critical condition. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale with an epicenter about 72 km southwest of Marrakech.
In the village of Amizmiz near the epicenter, rescue workers removed rubble with their bare hands. Collapsed rocks blocked the narrow streets. Outside the hospital, about 10 bodies lay covered in blankets while grieving relatives stood nearby.
“When I felt the earth shake under my feet and the house tilt, I rushed to get my children out. But my neighbors can’t,” said Mohamed Azaw as quoted by Reuters, Sunday (10/9/2023).
Unfortunately no one was found alive in the family. The father and son were found dead and they are still looking for the mother and daughter.
Rescuers stood on the first floor of the building in Amizmiz, with pieces of carpet and furniture sticking out of the rubble. Long queues formed outside the only shop open as people searched for food supplies. Underlining the challenges the rescue team faced, large falling rocks blocked the path from Amizmiz to a nearby village.
Nearly all the houses in the Asni area, about 40 km south of Marrakesh, were damaged, and villagers prepared to spend the night outside. Food supplies are limited because the kitchen roof collapsed, said village resident Mohamed Ouhammo.
Montasir Itri, a resident of Asni, said the search for survivors was continuing.
