An earthquake has sown destruction and devastation in Morocco, where death and injury counts continue to rise after rescue crews dug out people both alive and dead in villages that were reduced to rubble.
Law enforcement and aid workers-both Moroccan and international — have arrived in the region south of the city of Marrakech that was hardest hit by the magnitude 6.8 tremor Friday night, along with several aftershocks.
Residents in most places have been provided food and water, and most of the giant boulders blocking steep mountain roads have been cleared. But worries remain about shelter and long-term recovery efforts in impoverished mountain regions hardest hit.
The epicenter was high in the Atlas Mountains, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Marrakech in Al Haouz province.
The region is largely rural — made up of red-rock mountains, picturesque gorges and glistening streams and lakes.
The earthquake shook most of Morocco and caused injury and death in other provinces, including Marrakech, Taroudant and Chichaoua.
Of the 2,946 deaths reported as of Wednesday, 1,684 were in Al Haouz, a region with a population of around 570,000, according to Morocco’s 2014 census.
In certain villages such as Tafeghaghte, residents say more than half the population died. The United Nations has estimated that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night’s temblor.
People speak a combination of Arabic and Tachelhit, Morocco’s most common Indigenous language. Villages of clay and mud brick built into mountainsides have been destroyed.
People recover a washing machine from their home that was damaged by the earthquake, in the town of Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Morocco, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. An aftershock rattled Moroccans on Sunday as they prayed for victims of the nation’s strongest earthquake in more than a century and toiled to rescue survivors while soldiers and workers brought water and supplies to desperate mountain villages in ruins. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)
Most of the dead have already been buried. The government reports 2,501 injuries.
Morocco has deployed ambulances, rescue crews and soldiers to the region to help assist with emergency response efforts.
Aid groups said the government hasn’t made a broad appeal for help and accepted only limited foreign assistance.
The Interior Ministry said that it was accepting search and rescue-focused international aid from nongovernmental organizations as well as Spain, Qatar, the U.K. and the United Arab Emirates, bypassing offers from French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden.
The Moroccan government said that poorly coordinated aid “would be counterproductive,” to the frustration of rescue teams.
