Search and rescue efforts intensified on Saturday in Morocco after a powerful earthquake killed at least 1,000 people and injured hundreds more overnight, with national authorities deploying the military to hard-hit areas and foreign partners promising aid.
But it remained unclear how quickly emergency teams would be able to reach the victims and prevent more deaths. Many of the areas affected by the quake are remote mountain villages that are not easily accessible, and a statement on Saturday evening from the office of King Mohammed VI did not clarify whether the country would formally request foreign assistance to allow outside rescue teams to intervene.
The king ordered the country’s armed forces to deploy aircraft, helicopters and troops to help with the rescue efforts, according to a statement from the government. Local television showed images of trucks crammed with soldiers driving toward the devastated areas, in the High Atlas Mountains, in the southwest of the country.
Authorities said that about half of the victims were in the Haouz region, a rural area with many mud-brick houses and little earthquake-resistant infrastructure. » | Constant Méheut | Saturday, September 9, 2023
