LAHORE MIRROR (REUTERS) – Survivors of Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in over six decades are grappling with the search for missing loved ones while struggling to secure essentials like food, water, and shelter on Sunday. The death toll, which climbs at more than 2,100, is expected to rise more.
In the aftermath of the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck late on Friday, many individuals find themselves enduring a third night in the open. Relief workers are confronted with the daunting task of reaching the hardest-hit villages in the High Atlas, a rugged mountain range characterized by remote settlements and numerous collapsed houses.
State TV reports a death toll of 2,122 with 2,421 people injured. Morocco is considering relief offers from other nations and is prepared to coordinate them as necessary, per state TV.
The devastation to Morocco’s cultural heritage is increasingly apparent, with local media documenting the collapse of a historically significant 12th-century mosque. Additionally, parts of Marrakech’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, suffered damage in the quake.
In Moulay Brahim, a village 40 km (25 miles) south of Marrakech, residents described how they dug the dead from the rubble using their bare hands. On a hillside overlooking the village, residents buried a 45-year-old woman who had died along with her 18-year-old son, a woman sobbing loudly as the body was lowered into the grave.
As he retrieved possessions from his damaged home, Hussein Adnaie said he believed people were still buried in the rubble nearby.
