Thousands of people still reeling from Moroccan earthquake

Sarah Gambles
·2 min read
A man reacts as he speaks about the damage caused by the earthquake to his home, in the old Medina of Marrakech, Morocco, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. An aftershock rattled Moroccans on Sunday as they mourned victims of the nation’s strongest earthquake in more than a century and sought to rescue survivors while soldiers and aid workers raced to reach ruined mountain villages.

Thousands of people in Morocco are still reeling from a devastating earthquake that has already claimed nearly 2,700 lives. Rescuers are still searching for survivors, and officials warn that the death toll is likely to increase.

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the High Atlas Mountains southwest of Marrakech on Friday night, Reuters reported.

“The level of destruction is ... absolute,” Spanish rescuer Antonio Nogales told Reuters. “Not a single house has stayed upright. We’re going to start our search with dogs and see whether we can find anyone alive.”

According to CNN, “The quake is the strongest to hit the nation’s center in more than a century.”

More than 300,000 people have been impacted by the quake, NBC News reported. Emergency workers and volunteers are desperately rushing to save any other survivors from the quake because chances of survival dwindle significantly the more time goes on.

A woman tries to recover some of her possessions from her home which was damaged by an earthquake in the village of Tafeghaghte, near Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. Rescue crews expanded their efforts on Monday as the earthquake’s death toll continued to climb to more than 2,400 and displaced people worried about where to find shelter. | Mosa’ab Elshamy, Associated Press

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Morocco and my friend King Mohammed VI,” President Joe Biden said Sunday, per ABC News. “We’re working expeditiously to ensure American citizens in Morocco are safe, standing ready to provide any necessary assistance to the Moroccan people as well. We made that offer.”

Some of the hardest to reach places were hit hardest, with roads still torn up and unable to be driven on, making search efforts even more complicated.

“It’s just a rush, it’s a race against time to just get to those places,” Caroline Holt, a senior official at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told The New York Times.