Morocco is trying to get back to normal as it is about a week since the devastating earthquake that ravaged the south of the country.
Last Friday in the morning, an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale caused an enormous humanitarian catastrophe in the mountainous region of the Atlas, south of the tourist city of Marrakech.
According to the latest updates, the earthquake has already caused 3,000 deaths and more than 5,000 injuries. In addition, there are thousands of people affected. Many families have been left homeless, as the earthquake has destroyed homes, roads and all kinds of infrastructure.
With this level of devastation, the help of rescue and relief teams is still essential. Even miracles continue to happen: yesterday, a team of firefighters from the Generalitat Valenciana rescued a 6-year-old girl after almost a week under the rubble. Unfortunately, the minor died a few hours after being rescued.
A large number of rescuers are Spanish. Members of the military emergency unit are also deployed. The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, confirmed yesterday that the troops will continue on the ground as long as necessary.
In addition to rescuing the victims buried by the rubble, the emergency teams are rehousing the residents in tents and offering them food and drink. Thanks to their help, many inhabitants are no longer sleeping in the open air. In Amizmiz, the Moroccan army has already resettled around a thousand people.
His task is complicated, especially considering the rain forecasts and the continuous aftershocks, more than thirty. The latest and most powerful was registered yesterday, Friday, when a magnitude 4.6 shook the vicinity of Marrakesh, the most affected area. The earthquake was barely felt, but it forced a momentary halt to rescue work and the work of journalists from around the world covering the events.
With all these difficulties, the Moroccan Government is pushing ahead with the work to reopen the mountain roads damaged by the earthquake. Many recorded detachments and, as a result, now have large cracks.
The heavy traffic complicates the circulation even more. The roads often collapse due to the sum of the vehicles of the emergency teams, rescue teams, journalists and citizens from all over the country who distribute humanitarian aid to their compatriots.
Although most citizens show their solidarity, others take advantage of the misfortune. The police in the Moroccan town of Temara, north of Rabat, arrested three people yesterday for keeping food donated by citizens. According to the Efe agency, those arrested are a truck driver, his assistant and the owner of a grocery store, which was the true destination of the food donated by neighbors.
In terms of international aid, Morocco has only accepted search and rescue teams from the United Kingdom, Qatar, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, the Maghreb country continues not to accept help from countries like France.
