Moroccan authorities declared three days of official mourning on Saturday as a rare and powerful earthquake devastated the Atlas Mountains and the historic city of Marrakech, leaving more than 2,000 dead, some 2,100 injured and rescuers struggling to reach survivors.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI also ordered the country’s armed forces to mobilize air and ground rescue teams and build a field hospital after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake, according to a statement from the country’s military.
So far, 2,012 people have died, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicenter of the earthquake, and 2,059 people have been injured, according to reports.
Videos of the devastation show frightened citizens running for safety and pushing each other out of the way as dust and debris crumbles around them and houses crumble and buildings fall on their sides.
State television also showed hundreds of people camped in the streets of Marrakech on Friday night, too afraid to return to their homes which they feared would collapse after the earthquake.
One woman told Moroccan state television that she had lost four children and her husband.
The town of Adassil, in the Atlas Mountains, was almost completely reduced to rubble, The video published on X, formerly Twitter, is shown.
Authorities are stockpiling tents, food, bedding and medicine to help citizens, officials said.
In cities across the country, hundreds of residents responded to the government’s call to donate blood, including members of the country’s national soccer team whose match against Liberia in the African Cup of Nations qualifying round on Saturday in Agadir was postponed, while Rescuers were digging through the rubble to reach buried survivors.
The match between Congo and Gambia is scheduled to take place on Sunday in Marrakech despite the earthquake.
Players from both teams spent the night sleeping by their hotel pools after the earthquake hit the city on Friday night, according to reports.
Men line up the bodies of dead victims in Moulay Brahim, Al Haouz province, after a powerful earthquake left more than 1,000 dead in Marrakech and the surrounding region.AFP via Getty Images
Rescuers work to save a man trapped under rubble in the village of Moulay Brahim, on the outskirts of Marrakech.AP
Tremors from the earthquake were felt as far away as Algeria and the Spanish region of Andalusia, across the Strait of Gibraltar that separates the country from Morocco.
Speaking at the G20 summit in New Delhi, leaders from around the world pledged their support for the North African country.
President Biden said he is “deeply saddened” by the earthquake and that the administration is in contact with officials in Morocco. “We are working quickly to ensure that American citizens in Morocco are safe and we stand ready to provide any necessary assistance to the Moroccan people,” he said.
Algeria, which broke diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, announced on Saturday that it was willing to provide humanitarian aid and opened its airspace to aid flights following the earthquake.
A collapsed building near the towns of Amizmiz and Ouirgane, Morocco, after the earthquake.REUTERS/Ahmed El Jechtimi
On Saturday, state television showed dozens of Moroccans lining up at blood transfusion centers in Marrakech and Rabat to donate blood.
Abderrahim Ait Daoud, leader of the town of Talat N’Yaaqoub, told the Moroccan news site 2M that several houses had collapsed in his area, but the full extent of the damage in the remote region was not known because extensive damage had blocked the area. roads, making access difficult for first responders, he said.
Moroccan authorities are reportedly working to clear roads in Al Haouz province to allow ambulances to pass through.
Paramedics take an injured person to the hospital in Chichaoua, Morocco.AL-OULA TV via REUTERS
A woman crying in front of her house in Marrakech that was destroyed by the earthquake.Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images
A resident navigates through the rubble after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the ancient city of Marrakech on Friday night. AFP via Getty Images
In Marrakech, the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque showed signs of damage.
Moroccans released videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls surrounding the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn