The death toll in Morocco has continued to climb to nearly 2,800 fatalities, just days after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake rocked the country on Friday, Sept. 8.
The earthquake’s epicenter was located about 40 miles southeast of Marrakech, and more than 2,500 injuries have been reported. The earthquake’s areas of highest intensity in the High Atlas Mountains occurred in rural areas with limited access to medical facilities.
Though the country of Morocco has not requested humanitarian assistance at this time, urban search and rescue teams from Qatar, Spain, and Britain have arrived at the government’s request to assist in search and rescue efforts.
While needs are assessed, Direct Relief is in communication with several networks in Morocco, including the Ministry of Public Health, Mohammed VI University Hospital Centre, Rabat University Hospital, Foundation Lalli Salma (Foundation of Former First Lady of Morocco), Eli Lilly’s Country Office, and in-country Rare Disease Program physicians.
Additionally, Direct Relief is communicating with international organizations positioned to respond, including Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM has reached out to its 30 members in Morocco), International Diabetes Federation’s disaster committee, MedGlobal, and the UN agency IOM’s Public Health and Emergency Division. Since timely access to dialysis is critical for earthquake crush victims, Direct Relief is also in contact with the International Society of Nephrology.
Quake Impacts Rural, Less Resourced Areas of Morocco
The earthquake’s most extreme shake zone occurred in an area where residents are relatively lower wealth than less impacted areas, and also occurred in a zone with limited access to hospitals and other health facilities, according to data compiled by Crisis Ready, a collaboration between Direct Relief and Harvard University School of Public Health. The maps were first published on Crisis Ready’s site here.
The analysis examined population density, health facility density and relative wealth index via anonymized data from Data for Good via Meta. Crisis Ready has provided maps and information analysis to responding organizations and the European Commission via Meta, and will continue providing insights to inform emergency responders and governments allocating resources to the response.
