| Tremors continue in Morocco Yesterday, seismic stations recorded a new earthquake in northern Morocco. Its strength is 3.8 on the Richter scale. After the devastating earthquake of 6.5 magnitude, which occurred in the province of Al Hoceima on Tuesday night, this is already the fifth disaster strike. The villages of Ait Kamara (14 km from the sea) and Imzuren (20 km) in the provinces of Fes and Taza were wiped off the face of the earth, and old residential buildings were destroyed. By yesterday, 564 deaths were known, but their number could rise as the rubble is cleared. About 300 people were injured. Tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the open air in temperatures of plus 5 Celsius and rain. But many do not seek shelter - it is quieter away from buildings.
Between 300 and 400 thousand people lived in the disaster area. The rural population mainly lived in seismically unstable clay houses. On the other hand, clay ruins are not concrete and there are more chances of escape under them. Tremors were also felt on the Spanish coast, but no casualties were reported there.
The rescue efforts, led personally by King Mohammed VI, involve the military and the local population. A serious problem is the lack of search dogs. There is a shortage of tents, warm clothes, food and drinking water. Mountainous terrain and poor roads make transport connections to the disaster area difficult. The main burden fell on army and police helicopters - the wounded were transported by air to hospitals in Casablanca and Rabat.
The world community responded to the Moroccan misfortune: the UN, the European Union, as well as Spain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. The Red Cross has sent 200 employees to the scene of the tragedy and is preparing to deploy field hospitals. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram of condolences to the Moroccan monarch.
Morocco is located in a seismic zone, but the current natural disaster is the worst in the last decade. Al Hoceima suffered a serious earthquake in 1990. The most terrible consequences were caused by tremors in 1960 - then about 12 thousand Moroccans died. Katerina LABETSKAYA |
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