Earthquake In Morocco
There was an earthquake in Morocco last weekend. At the time of writing, this earthquake has caused more than 2,000 casualties. The earthquake was 6.8 on the scale of magnitude. That was the biggest earthquake in Morocco in 60 years.
The earthquake destroyed a lot of houses and buildings in the High Atlas Mountains. Some areas high in the mountains are difficult for emergency services to reach. Not all roads are equally passable, so it takes a while for emergency responders to get to certain places. Some places can only be reached by helicopter.
In the small town of Amizmiz (approximately 55 kilometers south of Marrakesh), buildings were still collapsing on Sunday afternoon, almost 40 hours after the earthquake on Friday evening. Traces of the former residents could be seen in some houses. For example, in the ruins of the ceiling on the second floor: velvet blankets, suitcases, and rugs. Some survivors have moved to higher ground and set up tents on patches of flat, dry ground.
The Moroccan government has deployed the military to lead search and rescue efforts in affected areas, while other aid groups are busy setting up shelters for residents who have lost their homes or for those unable to return home due to structural damage or fear of aftershocks.
In the Netherlands, a group of almost 200 Moroccan-Dutch doctors have said that they want to help in Morocco. Ali Lahdidioui, chairman of the Association of Moroccan Doctors in the Netherlands (AMAN), made a post on Linkedin to see how many doctors would like to help in Morocco. So, there was a lot of response to this.
Ali Lahdidioui says “Contact has been made with the authorities and we are currently waiting for the green light to further develop these plans.” He also says that it is difficult to have to wait because you know that people can already use your help. Still, he says, “As a physician organization, we have decided to act thoughtfully and do what we do best: provide appropriate and adequate medical care.”
So, as soon as there is a green light, doctors will go to Morocco to provide help in the affected areas. Help has been offered to Morocco from all over the world. For example, a group from the European Union was ready to help Morocco and an assessment team from the United States is also in Morocco to assist the Moroccan government where necessary.
Lahdidioui and his colleagues from AMAN are currently considering semi-acute assistance. They say that the hospitals are there for trauma care. They also say that they know from previous disasters that there are shortages of basic needs: food, hygiene and water. There is a high risk of infections and they want to provide support in this regard.
Coach Ramzi also experienced the earthquake in Morocco up close. Ramzi is the coach of the Moroccan top club Wydad AC. He lives in the coastal city of Casablanca because of his work, but his family comes from Marrakech, a city north of the epicenter. The earthquake killed Ramzi’s aunt and her children.
On Saturday morning, Ramzi canceled the practice of his soccer team via his soccer team’s group app and took care of his players and staff. “Everyone had gone out at night, one of my players only returned home at 11 am in the morning because he was afraid. Then you don’t practice.”
Ramzi believes that now is the time to stand up. He believes that rich people should take responsibility. How does he do that himself? Just like the national team, he has decided to donate blood and on Monday he will visit the club to see what they can do financially.
The national team would play a match the next day. The match between Morocco and Liberia in the qualification for the African Cup has therefore been canceled. According to the Moroccan association, the decision was taken in consultation with the African Football Federation. Instead of playing a match, a large part of the selection donated blood. They did this through a call from the Moroccan government to donate blood for the many people that are injured.
This earthquake will have a long-lasting aftermath for Morocco. Many houses have been destroyed, leaving many people homeless. A lot of them have also been found. Fortunately for Morocco, many different agencies have offered help to help Morocco get back on its feet.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/10/morocco-earthquake-rescue-aid-marrakesh/
Overall, the article is written very well. The structure and layout of the article is very well. The most important information is at the beginning of the article. I am wondering if the lead of the article could maybe be shortened. The article really shows the great impact the earthquake has in Morocco. Great Job!
Hello Isabel,
I enjoyed reading your article about the Moroccan earthquake and the groups providing aid.
While order paragraphs I had a few differences compared to what was published, though I thought the order makes sense in your article. The sequence of your article works well.
An issue that I found had to deal with a few confusing sentences-or that I interpreted them wrong, either way, may be a good idea to make them clear for future readers. Here is one of the instances on where I was confused:
“Traces of the former residents could be seen in some houses.” I read the next sentence and understood traces to mean the velvet blankets, suicases, and rugs, however, I interpreted it as traces of humans, not their belongings.
I was also confused with the Coach Ramzi portion of the article. American readers may require some more context to this portion of the article.