Morocco has announced its first aid program for the people in the earthquake zone. As the king’s office said on Thursday after a meeting chaired by Mohammed VI. announced that the aim is to support the residents of around 50,000 completely or partially destroyed buildings. They should be accommodated in temporary accommodation that protects them from cold and bad weather, or in reception centers “equipped with all necessary amenities”.
Accordingly, the Moroccan authorities also ordered emergency aid of 30,000 dirhams (around 2,750 euros) for households affected by the earthquake disaster.
The devastating earthquake struck Morocco late on Friday evening last week. The US earthquake monitoring station USGS gave the magnitude as 6.8, Moroccan experts as 7.0. The epicenter was around 70 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh in Al-Haouz province. Many villages in the surrounding mountains were razed to the ground.
Morocco only occasionally accepts offers of help
The exact extent of the disaster was not yet foreseeable on Thursday. According to a report published the evening before, 2,946 people were killed and more than 5,600 injured by the quake. It is still unclear how many people lost their roof over their heads.
According to the king’s office, around 12,800 euros should be approved for completely collapsed buildings and around 7,300 euros for the reconstruction of partially destroyed houses.
Morocco has so far only allowed rescue teams from a few countries, including Spain and Great Britain, into the country. Morocco rejected some offers of help from other countries.
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