My backup laptop has a glitch and won't let me copy stories (it will be going into the repair shop soon). But BBC is reporting "devastation" in the rural areas, and Sky News is reporting 2,000 dead in just one town. It seems the damage is much worse in the countryside than was expected. I managed to copy the sky link (I'm sorry; maybe someone else can post the stories).
More than 2,400 people have been killed after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco. Many of the fatalities are said to be in hard-to-reach areas south of Marrakech, and there are fears one such town could record 2,000 deaths alone.
news.sky.com
Morocco earthquake latest: CCTV shows moment earthquake struck - with 2,000 feared dead in single town
More than 2,100 people have been killed after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco, officials have said. Many of the fatalities are said to be in hard-to-reach areas south of Marrakech, and there are fears one such town could record 2,000 deaths alone.
Sunday 10 September 2023 19:12, UK
Key points
Inside the epicentre: The smell of dead bodies, grieving families and the gruelling wait to hopefully find survivors
By Stuart Ramsey, chief correspondent in Talat Nyakoub
The large rotary blades of a military helicopter fire up, lifting emergency supplies towards villages otherwise cut off from the world.
They're also shuttling the injured and dead away from the epicentre.
An enormous cloud of dust engulfs dozens of survivors and emergency teams who have descended on the town of Talat Nyakoub, at the epicentre of the earthquake, to dig for the living and recover the dead.
There is hope that loved ones didn't die when the quake hit the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, but the smell of dead bodies is at times overpowering and the grim faces of rescue workers speak volumes.
Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people gather at a newly formed roads created when the street below disintegrated.
Beneath them groups of rescue workers operating in teams of six to 12 dig their way through the rubble.
There is little chatter, the sounds of drills and pickaxes fill the air. The occasional sound of somebody wailing punctuates the near silence. A sad indicator that another body has been found.
This is a desperate race to save lives but as each hour passes here, hope fades.
Rescue workers say finding survivors is difficult, not only because of the heat, but because of the amount of time that has passed since the earthquake struck - and the severity of its impact.
Whole streets have been utterly destroyed in what survivors say was more like an enormous explosion than the shaking of an earthquake.
They described how the ground and buildings blew upwards from the earth before collapsing. Multi-storey buildings are now pancaked.
Air Said Mohamed says he rescued three people here, and 10 in another village, before rescue workers get here.
"Sometimes you find someone alive, sometimes not, they have already died… but there is hope, I rescued three people here and 10 in the other village above."
In the blistering heat rescuers dig through the rubble looking for survivors, but in all honesty, they're expecting to find the dead.
While we filmed, we saw many dead – but we saw no survivors.
When a body is found, it is extracted from the rubble, wrapped in a blanket, and placed on an orange stretcher.
Recovery teams then take the body to a dusty car park that has become the main gathering point for the relief effort.
They're usually followed by the family, almost all in tears.
We watched as the body of 18-year-old Heba was recovered and placed on the ground in the car park.
She was only visiting her family here - Heba was a student living in Marrakech.
Her family survived, she did not. Her mother and father cried and hugged, while their relatives tried to support them. They were inconsolable.
You see this scene time and again at the epicentre.
I met Fatima standing on the ridge watching relief efforts. She has lost 10 members of her family already and told me others are still missing.
"The rescue workers are doing a really good job but look at everything they have to dig through – concrete, sand rocks… it's very difficult," Fatima said.
She has given up hope of anyone still being alive.
"Within seconds everything fell down, some people managed to run out of their houses, others didn't make it."
Although most of the rescue work is done by hand, the rescue teams occasionally use drills powered by generators to break through the exposed floors and ceilings of the buildings - it's hard to differentiate between the two.
Youssef Id Mesouad was here when the body of his mother was removed from the family home.
He's returned with his uncle and cousins to wait for the relief teams to find the body of his father.
He stands with them on top of the house, now a pile of rubble, gesturing and explaining the layout of the house.
Youssef knows there is no hope left for his father. He told me his mother's body was found near the ceiling of the house, not underneath it.
Throughout the day the bodies of the newly recovered were laid in a row in the car park. Their families sitting beside them, waiting to take them away.
Youssef knows his father will be one of them, he's just waiting for him to be found.
Another death to add to thousands we already know about.
UK deploys 60 search and rescue personnel to Morocco
The UK has deployed 60 search and rescue specialists to Morocco to assist the country's efforts to find survivors, the foreign office has announced.
Four dogs, rescue equipment and a medical assessment team have also been sent, along with two Royal Air Force aircraft from the Ministry of Defence.
"This is a devastating time for the people of Morocco, particularly those with loved ones they have lost or are missing," Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said.
"The UK has taken a leading role in the international effort to enhance search and rescue operations - moving quickly to deploy our unique strategic airlift capabilities, expert personnel and aid.
"We stand firmly by Morocco as they get through this terrible event."
Morocco has already accepted assistance from Spain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, but several other counties have offered to help.
Aftershocks will keep hitting Morocco - and they could last weeks or months
By Jess Sharp, live reporter
Aftershocks are going to continue hitting Morocco and they could last days, weeks or even months, the director of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) told Sky News.
The country was rocked by a huge 6.8 magnitude earthquake on Friday, and since then, 25 aftershocks have been recorded so far, Remy Bossu said.
The biggest was recorded at 4.8 and occurred just an hour after the main shock.
"There will be aftershocks. It is not probably, it is a certainty," he said.
"They will keep going for days and weeks... but we don't know how many or how big they will be.
"In a few months, we may still have aftershocks from time to time - this won't be surprising."
Explaining the danger of aftershocks hitting the country, Mr Bossu said one of the biggest threats will be to rescuers carrying out search operations.
"Of course the people who are trying to clear the rubble, trying to find survivors, have to go within weakened buildings and then any time there is an aftershock the compromised buildings will totally collapse," he said.
"So there is a real fear, a real threat, for all the rescuers until the rescue operations are over."
After the first seven to 10 days, authorities usually rate the buildings from non-affected to needing to be destroyed to the damage caused by the quake.
Until then, it is "extremely difficult" for civilians to re-enter buildings.
https://news.sky.com/story/morocco-...eported-12957790?postid=6414390#liveblog-body
A mother grieves her two daughters and husband while sleeping under tarpaulin with her son
Over the last 24 hours, our teams on the ground in Morocco have reached the town of Amizmiz.
Located in a valley in the mountains about 34 miles (55km) south of Marrakech, it is a rural area that has seen huge amounts of devastation.
A local paramedic estimated 2,000 people have died there.
Among the dead are Karima's two daughters and her husband.
Now she has just her son with her. They are sleeping under tarpaulins. Their home destroyed.
All French phone operators offering free texts in Morocco
All French phone operators are offering free texts to their customers in Morocco, an official has announced.
"Following the tragic earthquake, calls and text messages to Morocco will be free for customers of operators Bouygues, Free and Orange customers," Jean-Noel Barrot, the minister delegate in charge of digital said.
"Absolute solidarity with the victims, their families and loved ones."
Moroccans are one of the biggest communities in France, and earlier today the French Foreign Ministry confirmed four citizens had died in the earthquake.
https://news.sky.com/story/morocco-...eported-12957790?postid=6414190#liveblog-body
'Everything from broken bones to severe head wounds' - Organisation releases emergency fund to buy 'essential supplies'
An emergency fund has been released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) to buy "essential supplies" for Morocco.
A total of 1 million Swiss francs (£898,714) will be sent to teams of the ground, the organisation said.
"It will be used to buy essential supplies locally in Morocco. The people in the Moroccan Red Crescent know their communities best, and know best what is needed," said Dr. Hossam Elsharkawi, regional director of Middle East and North Africa for the IFRC.
However, challenges on the ground are "vast" and search and rescue teams are still trying to get "heavy machinery" into remote areas, the IFRC's director of global operations added.
"We also know that many people have suffered serious injuries – everything from broken bones to severe head wounds and identifying and prioritising the most severe cases is key," Caroline Hoklt said.
"Our partner on the ground – the Moroccan Red Crescent – is really working to provide first aid and keep people safe from harm as the aftershocks continue."
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