JERSEY Overseas Aid are ‘monitoring the ongoing relief effort’ in Morocco, as Channel Islanders describe the moment a magnitude 6.8 earthquake rocked North African country.
The quake at 11pm local time on Friday has devastated many villages in and around the Atlas Mountains, near Marrakesh, with the death toll rising to over 2,500.
Monday marked the country’s third day of mourning, and overseas-aid charities – including Jersey Overseas Aid – continue to communicate with humanitarian organisations in the area.
A spokesperson from JOA said: ‘We are monitoring the ongoing relief effort in Morocco following Friday’s devastating earthquake. Staff are in contact with humanitarian partners and will assess the needs in the coming days.’
Shaun and Vicky Green (57 and 56) were staying in a hotel in Tahanaout, a town in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, about 30 kilometres from Marrakesh, when the earthquake struck on the night of 8 September.
The earthquake’s epicentre was 30 to 40 kilometres from them, Mr Green estimated.
‘We heard this almighty noise,’ he said. ‘It was absolutely deafening, like somebody was banging and crashing, and the whole hotel room sounded like one big drum.’
‘My wife said she could feel that the walls were literally shaking around her, but I didn’t get that as much.’
‘We said “We’ve got to get out of here” and we held onto each other and went out the room. I had the stupid idea of standing under a huge granite arch just beyond the patio outside our room, but she suggested we go further out in the garden.
‘Afterward, we saw that there had been destruction everywhere, and the archway wouldn’t have been a safe place at all. We ended up sleeping outside that night, and it was very cold despite being a hot country. We just heard emergency sirens all night.’
Exchanging stories with other guests, Mr Green heard of holidaymakers who had cuts from falling plaster and one couple who were blocked into their room by rubble outside the door – and a woman suffering from an asthma attack, caused by the dust.
‘We also heard distressing stories from staff members at the hotel who lived in the surrounding Berber villages and didn’t know if their families were safe,’ he added.
‘Those were really badly hit, and you can see the construction is not safe.’
While roads are blocked and communications remain down, Mr and Mrs Green are now safe in a hotel in Essaouira, about three hours from Marrakesh, from where they fly home later this week.
‘On the drive, we found it quite affecting to see villages devastated, people sleeping under trees, scores of people on the side of the road wondering what to do.’
‘I feel for Morocco,’ he added. ‘They are just now moving into their best season, and do very well out of the autumn/winter months, so it is crushing for the country. The economy needs as much tourism as they can get, and for this to happen now is devastating for them.’
