Rescuers on Monday faced a growing race against time to dig any survivors from the rubble of devastated villages in Morocco's Atlas mountains, three days after the massive earthquake that has killed over 2,800 people so far. Moroccan authorities have accepted aid offers from Spain, Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
📞 Crisis and support centres in Morocco and France
The Embassy of France in Morocco and the crisis and support centre of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in Paris have opened crisis centres to respond to requests for information or help from French citizens.
In Morocco: +212 537689900
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05:00am: Survivors suffer as Morocco quake aid trickles in
Rescuers supported by foreign teams faced a race against time to find those still alive after villages in the Atlas mountains were devastated by the 6.8-magnitude disaster that struck over the weekend. The deadly quake has put a heavy burden on the North African kingdom's emergency resources and aid has been slow to reach impacted areas. FRANCE 24's Clemence Weller reports.
8:57pm: Morocco quake toll rises to 2,862 deaths
At least 2,862 people were killed in the strongest-ever earthquake to hit Morocco, the interior ministry said on Monday, revising an earlier toll of nearly 2,700 dead.
Another 2,562 people were injured, the ministry said, with rescue workers now facing a race against time to find survivors.
8:55pm: Watch our special edition on the latest in the aftermath of the deadly Morocco quake
From the medinas to the mountains, locals wept for their lost relatives in the rubble of their homes on Monday as the death toll from Morocco's deadliest earthquake in more than six decades rose to over 2,800 and rescuers raced against time to find survivors. Watch FRANCE 24's special edition on the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts taking place.
8:48: Morocco wants IMF-World Bank meetings to proceed despite quake losses
The Moroccan government wants to proceed with International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings scheduled for October in Marrakech despite Friday’s devastating earthquake that has killed nearly 2,700 people, two sources familiar with the meeting planning said on Monday.
“From the viewpoint of the Moroccan authorities, the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank will take place as scheduled: October 9-15, 2023. There is no change of plan as of now,” one of the people, a source close to the Moroccan government, told Reuters.
The people were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
5:12pm: Death toll rises to 2,681
At least 2,681 people died in the strongest-ever earthquake to hit Morocco, the interior ministry said on Monday, revising an earlier toll of nearly 2,500 dead.
Another 2,501 people were injured, the ministry said, as rescue workers race against time in an effort to find survivors.
4:57pm: Emergency response to Morocco quake is a ‘marathon, not a sprint’
Search teams from Spain, the UK and Qatar have been joining efforts to find survivors of the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck Morocco late on Friday night.
Elaborating on the international response of the earthquake's aftermath, spokesperson and manager of the media unit at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Tommaso Della Longa told FRANCE 24 rescue efforts are "a marathon, not a sprint".
3:36pm: Morocco says accepting earthquake aid offers from just four countries
Morocco has accepted aid from four countries and a number of other nations have said they are on standby to send assistance if requested. Rescuers from the UK and Spain are among those on the road.
FRANCE 24's Catherine Khedir-Clifford tells us more with this report:
2:39pm: Outpouring of support for Morocco from French govt, citizens
The French government said on Monday it had pledged €5 million ($5.4 million) to aid organisations on-site in Morocco after a devastating earthquake there. FRANCE 24's reporter Clovis Casali reports from an aid collection point at a local town hall in the Paris suburb of Antony.
Read moreMorocco’s deadly earthquake triggers surge of solidarity in France
1:55pm: Watch our special edition on Morocco's quake emergency
Moroccan soldiers and aid teams in trucks and helicopters are battling to reach remote mountain settlements devastated by Friday's massive earthquake as the death toll nears 2,500 people. Watch our special programme on the country's deadliest earthquake in six decades.
12:33pm: Morocco quake death toll rises to 2,497, says interior ministry
The death toll from Morocco's devastating earthquake has risen to 2,497, the interior ministry said on Monday, as search and rescue efforts continue.
Another 2,476 people were injured, the ministry said, updating a previous toll of 2,122 dead and 2,400 wounded.
10:35am: Morocco quake revives memories of 1960 tremor that flattened Agadir
The devastating earthquake that hit Morocco on Friday was the country's deadliest in over 60 years. FRANCE 24 speaks to Ikrame Kohl, a freelance journalist in the western city of Agadir, where the tremor has revived memories of the quake that killed more than 12,000 people in 1960.
9:55am: France to give Morocco NGOs €5 million, warns against aid controversy
France has allocated five million euros to help aid organisations providing relief to areas devastated by the earthquake in Morocco, the country’s foreign minister has said.
Speaking to BFM television, Catherine Colonna warned against stirring controversy over Moroccan authorities’ decision not take up a French offer of help.
“It's a bad polemic, a completely misplaced polemic,” Colonna said when asked why Morocco had accepted aid from Spain and the United Kingdom – but not from France.
“Morocco has not refused any aid, that’s not how things should be presented,” she said. “Morocco is sovereign. It alone is in a position to determine what its needs are.”
Morocco has for months been without an ambassador to its former colonial power amid reported tensions between the two countries.
8:25am: Survivors await aid, dread aftershocks in quake-stricken village
Like many other settlements in Morocco’s stricken Atlas Mountains, the village of Moulay Brahim suffered serious damage and high casualties in Friday’s devastating earthquake.
The remaining residents have left their homes, living in fear of aftershocks as they wait for desperately needed aid to reach them.
FRANCE 24’s Jean-Marie Lemaire sent this report.
7:50am: Chinese Red Cross to give $200,000 to quake-stricken Morocco
The Red Cross Society of China will give the Moroccan Red Crescent $200,000 for emergency humanitarian assistance, Chinese state media report.
The Chinese Red Cross said the donation will be used to help Morocco carry out rescue and disaster relief work, according to the China Daily.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended condolences to Moroccan King Mohammed VI, saying in his message he was shocked to learn of the intense earthquake causing heavy casualties and property losses, state media reported.
4:15am: Morocco accepts aid from four countries
Rabat says it has accepted aid offers from four foreign nations, while many other countries have also said they are willing to send assistance.
Authorities have responded favourably "at this stage" to offers from Spain, Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates "to send search and rescue teams", the interior ministry said.
It noted the foreign teams were in contact with Moroccan authorities to coordinate efforts, and said only four offers had been accepted because "a lack of coordination could be counterproductive".
Other offers may be accepted in the future "if the needs evolve", according to the ministry. France was willing to provide aid "the second" Morocco requested it, President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday.
1:10am: Amid aftershocks and uncertainty, volunteers join disaster relief efforts
FRANCE 24 journalist Luke Shrago reported on the aftershocks Marrakesh experienced on Sunday and the solidarity he witnessed among citizens.
"Morocco has this huge tradition of warmly welcoming people, and that has shown, particularly in how people are volunteering to help out," he said.
A blood drive outside the city centre usually gets about 140 people a day volunteering to donate blood. This Sunday, they had between five and six thousand people showing up, with "queues right down the road [and] massive crowds of people", said Shrago.
Key developments from Sunday, September 10:
The death toll from Friday's devastating earthquake in Morocco's Atlas mountains rose to more than 2,100, with over 2,400 people injured, many of them seriously, according to official figures updated late on Sunday.
Thousands of people slept in the streets of Marrakech for a third straight night as soldiers and international aid teams in trucks and helicopters began to fan into remote mountain towns hit hardest by the 6.8 magnitude earthquake.
Moroccan authorities declared three days of national mourning.
Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP, Reuters)
