Mounting Frustration Amongst Morocco Quake Survivors as Aid Delays Continue

After spending their fourth night outside, several earthquake survivors in Morocco were struggling in temporary shelters on Tuesday, and the people in the ravaged mountain areas expressed their dissatisfaction at the lack of assistance they had gotten from the authorities.
2,862 people were killed and 2,562 injured in the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred late on Friday in the High Atlas Mountains. It was the deadliest earthquake to strike Morocco since 1960 and the country’s strongest in more than a century.
While Italy, Belgium, France, and Germany confirmed their offers of assistance had not yet been accepted, rescuers from Spain, UK, and Qatar were assisting Morocco’s search teams.
Those in isolated places cut off by landslides brought on by the earthquake that barred access roads were in the most desperate of situations, but in accessible areas relief efforts were moving up with tent camps and delivery of food and water.
Mehdi Ait Bouyali, 24, and a few other survivors who had also escaped their wrecked villages were camped out in the open alongside the Tizi n’Test road, which connects isolated valleys to Marrakech.
He claimed that although the authorities had not provided anything, passing motorists had given the group food and blankets. A lot of the typical mud brick homes that are common in the High Atlas were crumbling to muddy rubble without leaving any air pockets, which diminished hopes of locating survivors.
Read Also: U.S. Gives Green Light to $6 Billion Release in Iran Prisoner Deal
Challenges in Providing Aid to Morocco Earthquake Victims

Since the earthquake, several people have experienced power outages and telephone network failures, forcing them to rescue loved ones and extricate bodies from under their collapsed homes on their own.
Regular people were also lending a hand, like Marrakech resident Brahim Daldali, 36, who was riding a motorcycle to distribute food, drink, clothes, and blankets that had been donated by friends and strangers.
A few historic structures in Marrakech’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were damaged by the earthquake, which had its epicenter roughly 72 km (45 miles) southwest of the city. A site near the airport designated for IMF and World Bank meetings that are scheduled to take place next month essentially remained unharmed.
The government wants the meetings to proceed, according to sources, and more than 10,000 people are anticipated there. Spain, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have all extended aid to Morocco, but not accepted offers from Italy, Belgium, France, and Germany.
While Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Taji, told radio station Rtl on Tuesday that Morocco had chosen to only accept aid from nations with which it had close links, Germany had stated on Monday that it did not believe the choice was political.
The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which launched an urgent appeal for earthquake victims on Tuesday, was defended by Caroline Holt as global head of operations. Some voiced annoyance at not being permitted to assist.
Read Also: American Caver Rescued Safely After 12-Day Ordeal in Turkish Cave
Source: Newsbreak