Islamic Relief staff members standing in rubble from Earthquake

“Out of a village of 80 people, only six survived the Earthquake”

11 September 2023

Following the powerful earthquake that struck the High Atlas region in Morocco on the 8th September, Islamic Relief Spain’s Head of Programmes Hana Elabdallaoui reports on the situation on the ground, and affected communities’ urgent need for help. Over 2,600 people have lost their lives so far, and many more have been injured.

I landed in Marrakesh yesterday, alongside other colleagues from Islamic Relief. As soon as we left the airport, we felt aftershocks and were asked to get out of our car.

People were panicking – everyone was trying to find a safe place outside the airport, and it was quite frightening. This is just a glimpse of what affected families must have gone through on the night of the earthquake.

We then went to the city centre to start assessing the situation. We found people sleeping outside in the streets because they were afraid to go back in to their homes, which have been damaged.

We woke up early this morning and made our way to Chichaoua, a province that is 80km from Marrakech.

We met staff from the Moroccan Red Crescent in that area, and went to visit the most-affected villages together, in a region called Adassil in the Chichaoua province.

Families lost, and homes destroyed

We visited a village named Tikekht, which has remained isolated until today. Now, rescue teams have been able to reach the area.

We were shocked to learn that in a village of 80 people, only 6 survived the earthquake.

It was alarming to hear how the earthquake had killed almost an entire village, and it just shows the level of devastation caused.

Every single house was completely destroyed. We met some locals who explained their situation – many had lost their entire families. One had lost 18 relatives, while another lady wept as she described how she lost every single family member, and is now entirely alone.

Image: Tikekht Village which has been completely destroyed by the earthquake, killing 74 people.

We also visited a village named Tagadir, which was home to 70 families. 18 people lost their lives amid the earthquake, including a pregnant lady who was two days away from her expected delivery date.

We also heard from a man whose wife’s family had passed away. He found them under the rubble.

islamic relief staff standing amongst rubble after the earthquake in morocco

Image: Hassaan Ghani Sheikh from Islamic Relief UK visiting the village of Tagadir, in Chichaoua, where 17 people died.

Affected-families are in desperate need

After our initial assessment on the ground, we have found that families are in desperate need of food, tents and hygiene items.

It’s also clear that many are also in desperate need of psychological support. It was heartbreaking seeing their tears and hearing their traumatic stories. They need people to listen to what they have been through, and to provide support in order to be able to recover.

Islamic Relief’s response plan will be based on the needs assessment, working with trusted local partners.

Our response will focus on providing affected families with food, non-food items and emergency shelter.

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