On Friday, September 8th, a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco, killing at least 2,800 people and leaving another 2,500 people injured. IsraAID arrived in Morocco less than 48 hours after the earthquake to begin initial assessments, meet with community partners, and distribute essential humanitarian aid. IsraAID is further assessing urgent needs in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.
The epicenter of Friday's quake struck in the Al Haouz region, in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains. The earthquake took thousands of lives and caused widespread damage across five provinces, notably affecting the country's fourth-largest city, Marrakech, about 75 kilometers northeast of the epicenter. With large distances between mountain villages and roads cut off by debris from the quake, the full extent of the damage is still unknown. Aftershocks are expected to continue for several weeks.
IsraAID's emergency team will distribute urgently needed aid items and support local partners to provide immediate relief to vulnerable communities. The team includes experts in Mental Health and Logistics, who will assess additional needs based on our long-term deployment in similar settings. IsraAID has extensive experience responding to earthquakes around the world, including in Turkiye in March of 2023, Haiti in 2021 and 2010, Indonesia in 2018, Nepal in 2015, Japan in 2011, and more.
IsraAID's emergency response missions partner with local communities to re-build their lives, their communities and their futures, together. For as long as it takes. We focus on community resilience, building on community strengths in order to reduce the risk of future disasters.
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