Rescue teams are in a race against time to locate survivors in Morocco following a powerful earthquake that has claimed the lives of over 2,000 people. Remote villages near the epicenter have been devastated by the quake.
In the severely impacted village of Moulay Brahim, located south of Marrakech in the Atlas Mountains, residents have been forced to live in makeshift camps on soccer fields, with authorities warning them it could be a week before they can return home. While firefighters are leading rescue efforts, some buildings are too unstable to enter.
The 6.8-magnitude earthquake, which struck late on Friday, was the strongest to hit the region around Marrakech in a century, according to the US Geological Survey. The death toll has risen to 2,122, with an additional 2,421 people injured.
Despite offers of help from around the world, the United Nations announced that Morocco is managing the response independently. However, Spain, Qatar, Britain, and the United Arab Emirates have sent aid in response to Morocco’s official request for assistance.
The quake’s epicenter is in a mountainous area, and many fatalities have occurred in remote regions where homes made of mud bricks have collapsed, and roads are blocked by boulders. Aerial footage has shown villages on slopes flattened, reduced to rubble.
The first 72 hours after the quake are crucial for rescue operations, as trapped and injured individuals’ conditions can deteriorate rapidly. International support is essential, given the remote and challenging terrain of the affected areas.
This earthquake marks one of the deadliest disasters in Morocco since 2004 when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the port city of Al Hoceima, claiming approximately 630 lives. Morocco’s worst earthquake of modern times was in 1960 near the city of Agadir, where at least 12,000 people lost their lives.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
