RABAT: Morocco on Sat­ur­day declared three days of national mourning after a deadly earthquake overnight killed more than 1,300 people, an announcement from the royal palace said.

“Three days of national mourning have been decided, with flags to fly at half-mast on all public buildings,” said a statement published by the official MAP news agency after King Mohammed VI chaired a meeting to discuss the disaster.

Friday night’s earthquake was Morocco’s deadliest in decades and has killed at least 1,305 people, the vast majority in Al-Haouz, the epicentre, and Taroudant provinces, as per updated interior ministry figures on Saturday.

Another 1,832 people were injured, including many in critical condition, the ministry said as troops and emergency services scrambled to reach remote mountain villages where casualties are still feared trapped.

Al-Haouz and Taroudant provinces ‘worst-hit’; rival Algeria opens airspace for aid flights; FO says all Pakistanis are safe

The 6.8 magnitude quake hit a mountainous area 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of the tourist city of Marrakesh, the US Geological Survey reported.

With strong tremors also felt in the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira, the quake caused widespread damage and sent terrified residents and tourists scrambling to safety in the middle of the night.

It was the strongest-ever quake to hit the North African kingdom, and one expert described it as the region’s “biggest in more than 120 years”.

Civil defence Colonel Hicham Choukri, who is heading relief operations, told state television the epicentre and strength of the earthquake have created “an exceptional emergency situation”.

‘Unbearable’ screams

Faisal Badour, an engineer, said he felt the quake three times in his building in Marrakesh.

“There are families who are still sleeping outside because we were so scared of the force of this earthquake,” he said.

“The screaming and crying was unbearable.” Frenchman Mic­hael Bizet, 43, who owns three traditional riad houses in Marrakesh’s old town, told AFP he was in bed when the quake struck.

Footage on social media showed part of a minaret collapsed on Jemaa el-Fna square in the historic city.

The USGS PAGER system, which provides preliminary assessments on the impact of earthquakes, issued a “red alert” for economic losses, saying extensive damage is probable.

The Red Cross said it was mobilising resources to support the Moroccan Red Crescent, but its Middle East and North Africa director, Hossam Elsharkawi, warned: “We are looking at many months if not years of response.”

Algeria opens air space

Morocco’s neighbour and regional rival Algeria announced it was suspending a two-year-old ban on all Moroccan flights thro­ugh its airspace to enable aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Algerian authorities “have decided to open the airspace to flights transporting humanitarian aid and injured” from the quake, the president’s office said in a statement.

Algeria closed its airspace to all Moroccan aircraft in Septe­mber 2021 after having cut diplomatic ties with its longtime foe.

Despite the rivalry between the North African neighbours, Algerian authorities were “fully prepared to provide humanitarian aid and mobilise all material and human resources in solidarity with the brotherly Moroccan people upon request from the Kingdom of Morocco”, the statement said.

All Pakistanis safe: FO

Pakistan has expressed solidarity with Morocco and expressed heartfelt condolences over the tragic loss of lives, APP reported.

In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mum­taz Zahra Baloch said Pak­istan has offered assistance to the calamity-hit nation.

The embassy in Rabat has reached out to the Pakistani community and as per initial reports, all Pakistani nationals were safe. “We will continue to monitor the situation to facilitate them in the wake of this tragedy,” she added.

Separately, President Arif Alvi, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwa­a­rul Haq Kakar and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also expressed grief over the loss of lives.

The PM expressed condolences to the government and the people of Morocco, PM Office Media Wing said in a statement.

President Alvi expressed solidarity with the government and the people of Morocco and said in this difficult time, his sympathies were with the affected people.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said he was saddened and shocked by the disaster.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2023