Morocco quake death toll surpasses 2,900
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In the last two days, foreign workers have recovered hundreds of dead corpses from the wreckage, and the few survivors they have discovered are buried deep and difficult to rescue.
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A man on a scooter drives past rubble and a damaged road sign pointing to Marrakech in Talat N'yakoub, Morocco, on September 11, 2023. (AP)
Survivors of a 6.8 magnitude catastrophic earthquake in rural Morocco were scurrying to gather adequate food, water, and shelter as private donors stepped in.
Yesterday, the Moroccan Ministry of Interior announced a rising death toll of 2,497 and a growing number of injured individuals, reaching 2,476.
Several nations, including Algeria and Iran, have declared their readiness to provide assistance to Morocco and have expressed their solidarity following the violent earthquake that shook the nation.
Residents waited in lengthy lines as a truck dropped out containers of rice, wheat, tuna, and sugar provided by a Casablanca neighborhood on a road leading to the village of Amizmiz.
Read more: Morocco a day later; mass destruction, trauma, and grief
On Tuesday, rescue attempts resumed, however, the prospects of finding survivors were fading. In the last two days, foreign workers have recovered largely dead corpses from the wreckage, and the few survivors they have discovered are buried deep and were difficult to rescue.
Authorities have had difficulty reaching some of the worst-affected towns in the Atlas Mountains and pressure mounts on the government response.
King Mohammed VI criticized for slow response
King Mohammed VI ordered the government to provide refuge and reconstruct residences and directed local governments to stockpile tents, food, beds, and medication. The military took the lead, with soldiers in fatigues digging through the wreckage on public television.
The King has been under criticism for not releasing a statement right after the earthquake or visiting any of the affected areas.
According to Russ Gauden, chief of the United Kingdom International Search and Rescue Team in Morocco, the survival window was three to four days, depending on how trapped and injured a person was. Heat and mountain landslides were among the unusual problems his crew of about 60 people and four rescue dogs encountered.
Another cause of concern was low nighttime temperatures and the probability of rain later in the season.
According to one Moroccan government source, the quake has touched at least 600,000 people in some form.
Neila Tazi, a Moroccan lawmaker and president of the Senate’s Commission of Foreign Affairs called it a "very difficult moment" for the country and added that those affected are spread across villages and across the Atlas Mountains.
Pat Thaker, the Middle East and Africa director at the Economist Intelligence Unit, warned that Morocco could lose up to 2% of its gross domestic product and recovery will stretch into 2024.
Mohammed Ahmed Gain, a postcolonial studies professor at Morocco's University of Ibn Tofail, estimates that restoration efforts will take more than one and a half years.
