Morocco, 11 September, 2023: According to a press release issued by the Moroccan Interior Ministry on Sunday, the death toll from Friday night’s massive earthquake in central Morocco stands at 2,122, with 2,421 injured. This includes 1,351 people in Al Haouz province, 492 people in Taroudant province, 201 people in Khichaoua province, and 17 people in Marrakesh province, the ministry said.
According to reports, Moroccan troops and rescue workers were having difficulty reaching the worst-affected areas of the Atlas Mountains, as roads leading to them were blocked by falling boulders.
Earlier in the day, Marrakesh’s residents told reporters that aftershocks could still be felt. According to the World Health Organization estimates, the disaster has affected more than 300,000 people in the ancient old city and its outskirts. The number of casualties is expected to rise. The Moroccan Red Crescent (MRC) has said the situation on the ground posed a vast challenge to search and rescue efforts, and “getting heavy machinery into those remote areas of the Atlas Mountains to help with that is a priority”.
As more and more people were rescued from the rubble, the Ministry of Regional Cooperation (MRC) and other first responders worked around the clock to make sure the worst cases were identified and dealt with, MRC said. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake hit Morocco at 11:11 pm local time on Friday, at a depth of about 18.5 km.
