On Friday 8 September at 11.11pm, as people were sleeping in their homes, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco. The epicentre of the quake was in the High Atlas Mountains, about 70 kilometres south of Marrakesh.

More than 3,000 people have died, many more have been critically injured and over 300,000 people have been directly affected. Many of the hardest hit areas are remote and mountainous, and the destruction of roads and bridges has made accessing those communities incredibly challenging.

People behind the numbers

Hundreds of Moroccan Red Crescent volunteers have mobilised to respond to this disaster. In the severely impacted province of Al Haouz, an estimated 83,000 people have been affected by the earthquake. In this province alone, over 500 Moroccan Red Crescent volunteers have been deployed to provide people with shelter, food, medicine, and psychosocial support.

Further afield, medical caravans organised by Moroccan Red Crescent teams are visiting the most remote villages, providing medical and psychosocial support.

Across the board, Moroccan Red Crescent teams are working tirelessly to ensure that people who have lost their homes are provided with tents, mattresses, pillows, and blankets before winter rains and colder temperatures set in.

How is Australian Red Cross helping?

Following the earthquake, we submitted a proposal with the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to support the Moroccan Red Crescent response. We have secured $500,000 which will be sent through the IFRC Emergency Appeal to support the local response. Specifically, the funding will support the distribution of relief items, foods and cash assistance as well as work focused on protection and restoring family links.

As always, we stand ready to support Moroccan Red Crescent with the deployment of technical specialists from our delegate register.

Looking after yourself

We know that Moroccan communities here in Australia will be experiencing distress as they continue to see and hear reports of these disasters.

To support people in the wake of distressing events, we have put together information and advice on ways to cope. This information is available in a range of languages, including Arabic, and we encourage you to share it with your friends, family, and networks.