The United Nations estimated that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night’s magnitude 6.8 quake.
Friday’s earthquake toppled buildings not strong enough to withstand such a mighty temblor, trapping people in the rubble and sending others fleeing in terror. | Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP PhotoAMIZMIZ, Morocco — An aftershock rattled Moroccans on Sunday as they mourned victims of the nation’s strongest earthquake in more than a century and sought to rescue survivors while soldiers and aid workers raced to reach ruined mountain villages.
“It’s a catastrophe,’’ said villager Salah Ancheu, 28. “We don’t know what the future is. The aid remains insufficient.” Most of the dead — 1,351 — were in the Al Haouz district in the High Atlas Mountains, the ministry said. Morocco’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that it was accepting international aid from Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates. The Ministry said that Moroccan authorities have carefully assessed the needs on the ground, stressing that a lack of coordination would be counter-productive. The efforts will center on search and rescue.
In France, which has many ties to Morocco and said four of its citizens died in the quake, towns and cities have offered more than 2 million euros in aid. Popular performers are collecting donations.