A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco's High Atlas mountains on the evening of September 8, destroying hundreds of homes and causing thousands of casualties.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has ordered the armed forces to mobilize air and ground assets, specialized search and rescue teams and immediately set up a field hospital to treat the victims. Rescuers are still digging through the rubble in search of survivors.
Moroccans who witnessed the earthquake said anxiety quickly turned to chaos as walls began to shake and objects began falling to the ground.
In Amizmiz, a town about 30 miles southwest of Marrakesh, near the epicenter, Yasmina Bennani was getting ready for bed when she heard a loud noise.
The walls shook and cracked, vases and lamps broke, and pieces of the ceiling fell to the floor.
“I felt like I was being terrorized. I ran out of the room screaming, telling my mom to get out of the house. It didn’t last long but it felt like years,” said Ms Bennani.
As rescue workers struggled to search through the rubble, they were devastated to discover that many people did not survive.
“My husband and four children are dead. I have lost everything. I am alone,” one woman told Moroccan state television.
“When I felt the ground shaking beneath my feet and the house started to tilt, I rushed my children out. But my neighbor was not so lucky. There were no survivors. The bodies of the father and son were found, and now they are searching for the mother and son,” another man shared.
Abderrahim Ait Daoud, the mayor of Talat N'Yaaqoub, said authorities were working to clear roads in Al Haouz province to allow ambulances and aid to reach affected residents, but the mountain villages were far apart and it would take time to know the extent of the damage.
People leave their homes in Moulay Brahim village, al-Haouz province, Morocco after an earthquake struck on the night of September 8. Photo: WSJ
The earthquake severely damaged a hotel in Moulay Brahim. Photo: WSJ
People gather in a square in Marrakesh after the earthquake. Photo: NY Times
The Moroccan army deployed planes, helicopters and drones as well as emergency services to provide relief to damaged areas, but roads leading to mountainous areas around the epicenter were congested and blocked by falling rocks, slowing rescue efforts.
Rescue workers search for survivors in a collapsed house in Moulay Brahim, Morocco on September 9. Photo: The Guardian
It was the biggest earthquake to hit Morocco in 120 years, destroying many buildings made of stone and brick, which were not designed to withstand earthquakes.
In places where earthquakes are rare, buildings are not built strong enough to cope with strong shaking, leading to high casualties, according to Professor Bill McGuire at University College London.
At least 1,037 people were killed, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicenter, and 1,204 others were injured, the Moroccan Interior Ministry said. Of the injured, 721 were in critical condition.
“I expect the final death toll to be in the thousands. Like any major earthquake, aftershocks can cause more casualties and hamper search and rescue efforts,” McGuire said .
Nguyen Tuyet (According to AP, NY Times, The Guardian)
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