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00:00 Hello, I'm Annette Young and welcome to this special edition where we will be focusing
00:07 on that earthquake in Paris.
00:09 It's 1pm here in the French capitals.
00:11 So first of all, digging with their bare hands, rescuers in Morocco desperately seeking survivors
00:19 after that massive earthquake claims close to 2,500 lives.
00:24 The death toll continue expected to continue to rise.
00:28 Also international aid is beginning to arrive in Morocco from Spain, Qatar, the UK and the
00:33 United Arab Emirates.
00:35 This amid growing accusations that Rabat is not seeking as much international assistance
00:41 as it should be.
00:42 We will be crossing shortly to Loutrego in Marrakech for the latest.
00:47 But first, in three days after suffering a powerful earthquake, foreign aid and rescue
01:09 teams are continuing with efforts to find survivors amid the rubble of destroyed villages
01:14 in Morocco's Atlas Mountains.
01:17 Close to 2,500 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured, many critically.
01:24 The epicentre of the 6.8 magnitude quake was below a series of mountainous villages some
01:30 60 kilometres south of Marrakech.
01:33 Let's cross now to Luc Schrago who's in Marrakech.
01:37 Luc, it's now three days since that quake.
01:43 What is the atmosphere like in Marrakech and what are you hearing about those remote communities
01:48 closer to the epicentre?
01:54 Well we're at nearly three days after Friday's devastating earthquake and it has to be said
02:00 that the initial shock is beginning to fade and it's a matter of now, really in Marrakech
02:04 at least, of the city picking itself up, dusting itself off and moving on.
02:09 Currently what we've seen is an enormous amount of solidarity coming from the people here
02:13 in Marrakech, the closest major city to the earthquake struck zone epicentre of course
02:20 just 70 kilometres to the south of where we are.
02:24 But the question is now starting to be asked in terms of criticism coming towards the government
02:29 from certain quarters, why hasn't more aid been accepted?
02:32 We've seen all of these offers coming in from all around the world and for the time being
02:37 at least Morocco has accepted aid from the UK, Spain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates
02:44 with certainly smaller groups of volunteers coming in in a trickle to try and help out
02:50 wherever they can.
02:51 Now for the interior ministry in Morocco they have said that it's a matter of lacking coordination
02:59 and that to bring everyone in at the same time would be what they termed counterproductive.
03:04 Now we've seen the messages on state TV saying that it could well happen soon that more aid
03:12 will be accepted but it is a question at this point that time again is ticking, there is
03:17 a ticking clock on this again, we're three days out from the earthquake itself and there
03:22 are still people trapped under the rubble.
03:25 But of course you've got to remember what an enormous amount of work that rescuers have
03:29 to do, the army, the air force trying to get to areas.
03:33 We're talking about an area the size of Switzerland, that's just how big an area we're talking,
03:38 it's absolutely enormous.
03:40 With all of these isolated villages, some of these roads you still can't get past them
03:44 so it's a matter of trying to get everything coordinated, trying to get to these areas
03:47 and trying to bring aid to these people as the Moroccans feel that they will be able
03:52 to handle this in terms of coordination.
03:55 And Luke you're at an emergency shelter in Marrakesh, how many people are they expecting
04:00 to turn up?
04:02 That's right, we're here at a sports centre in the old city, you might be able to see
04:10 we're stood on astroturf and this construction that's gone up, this is one of two such constructions,
04:16 this one is for the women and children and just over the other side of the field they'll
04:20 be putting another one up for men.
04:23 At the time being there's about 200 people here, this is the first such centre that's
04:29 gone into operation, people have been able to show up, they've been able to get hot food,
04:35 wash and of course you can see the mattresses around me where they can actually sleep.
04:40 Now all of these people are from Marrakesh's old town, you remember that the world famous
04:45 UNESCO site is extremely old, the buildings are made of mud or older building materials,
04:52 it hasn't been able to deal with the shock of the earthquake so a lot of buildings have
04:57 actually been badly damaged, not so much collapse as we may have seen towards the epicentre
05:02 but these buildings have been rendered unsafe.
05:05 One woman we spoke to here, a little lady Ron said that she was at work during the earthquake,
05:08 she came home and saw huge cracks across the front of her house with masonry falling away
05:15 and obviously like so many people in the old city had to spend two nights sleeping outside
05:22 for fear of the fact that aftershocks might bring the rest of the building down.
05:26 That just goes to show just how much work there will be to do in the weeks, months,
05:30 maybe even years ahead in terms of surveying to see just how much damage there really is
05:34 and if anything needs to be demolished or if it will have to be rebuilt.
05:38 Now for the time being at least they do have somewhere now that they can come, places like
05:42 this, this is the first one and what we're hearing is that there are potentially two
05:48 more going to be built as well, not in the old city but a little further outside the
05:52 town.
05:53 Luke Schrager reporting there from that emergency shelter in Marrakesh, thank you.
06:00 And Clémence Waller reports on how locals are literally taking the search into their
06:06 own hands.
06:11 It's a race against time for the inhabitants of the high Atlas Mountains and the devastated
06:15 village of Amismes.
06:17 Using their hands and construction equipment, they carefully scour the rubble for their
06:21 neighbours trapped underneath.
06:23 On Friday, the Moroccan region was struck by a devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake
06:28 which injured and killed thousands of people.
06:31 Many homes were destroyed, built of mud bricks and timber.
06:35 Some are still standing but have sustained significant damage.
06:42 The wall cracked and everything fell to the ground.
06:45 I had to flee with my children to the street.
06:48 Then I heard that my neighbour was under the rubble so I went to help her.
06:56 A neighbour who survived but lost what little she had.
07:01 I couldn't escape because the roof fell on me.
07:04 I was trapped.
07:05 I was saved by my neighbours who removed the stones by hand.
07:09 Now I live with them but my house is in ruins.
07:15 Troops and emergency services have scrambled to reach the remote mountain villages.
07:19 Thirty-six hours after the event, finding survivors under the ruins is getting rarer.
07:25 In Amismes, the locals are digging graves for their loved ones and proceeding to bury
07:30 them in immense distress.
07:32 The Ministry of Education announced the closure of schools in the localities most affected
07:37 by the earthquake in the province of Al-Hawuz starting from Monday.
07:41 The International Federation for Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has released over
07:46 $1 million from its Emergency Disaster Fund to support the Moroccan Red Crescent's work
07:51 on the ground.
07:52 Meanwhile, Spain has already dispatched 56 firefighters to the country.
07:59 And as we've been reporting, limited international aid is beginning to arrive in Morocco from
08:03 Spain, Qatar, the UK and the United Arab Emirates.
08:06 This amid growing accusations that Rabat is not seeking as much international assistance
08:12 as it should.
08:13 In the meantime, the French Foreign Minister is saying it was up to Morocco whether to
08:17 seek French aid and that France was ready to help if asked.
08:21 The two nations having had a difficult relationship in recent years, notably over the issue of
08:26 Western Sahara which Morocco wants France to recognise as Moroccan.
08:30 Morocco has not had an envoy in Paris since January this year.
08:35 Now joining me from Madrid is Kirsten Sutherland from ActionAid Spain.
08:40 Kirsten, thank you so much for your time.
08:44 Firstly, we still don't know the true extent of damage in these mountainous regions near
08:50 the epicentre of the quake.
08:52 Do you have any updated information yourself?
08:59 My colleagues in Morocco are in contact with local associations in the area that has been
09:06 most affected by the earthquake.
09:10 And we have obviously the same reports that the media has that, you know, many communities
09:16 have been razed to the ground, all the buildings have been destroyed, people are sleeping on
09:20 the streets.
09:21 But we're still unsure as to the extent of the damage.
09:25 We don't know how many buildings have been affected or completely destroyed.
09:30 We know that around 380,000 people have been affected by the earthquake.
09:35 But we're still in the process of assessing the damage because obviously access to information
09:42 and physical access to the affected communities has been very complicated.
09:46 And as we've discussed, the region's remoteness makes any search and rescue operation incredibly
09:52 difficult at the best of times.
09:54 What would be the first priorities with this scenario?
09:58 Well, as we know, the first 72 hours are critical in search and rescue operations.
10:07 It's critical to move quickly in these contexts.
10:10 And as I said before, this has been complicated in the context of Morocco because the affected
10:16 communities are remote communities.
10:20 They're very high up, 1,300 meters above sea level.
10:24 The roads leading to and from the communities have been damaged by the earthquake.
10:29 But I think we can also say that the official response to the earthquake was a bit slow.
10:36 We saw an official response from the Moroccan government on Saturday afternoon after critical
10:42 hours had already passed.
10:44 So we are expecting the death toll to rise because of the lack of access to the communities
10:49 and because of the difficulties in the search and rescue operation.
10:54 And the Spanish have been among the first countries on the scene.
10:58 Will they be sending through other personnel and aid, to the best of your knowledge?
11:04 Well, this is another issue that has the delay by the Moroccan government in calling for
11:12 external support and calling for international assistance has meant that many organizations
11:18 like my own organizations have been waiting on standby to activate emergency response
11:23 programs in Morocco.
11:28 We have decided to go ahead despite an official call from the Moroccan government for assistance
11:34 because we are receiving calls from the communities and from our Moroccan partner organizations
11:40 for assistance.
11:42 So I believe that there will be a wider response, but I think that this has been something that
11:47 has been delayed by the lack of agility on the part of the Moroccan government.
11:53 And what sort of specific help will Action Aid be providing?
11:58 Well, obviously, in a disaster of this nature, the needs are very basic.
12:06 We're talking about shelters, obviously a critical point because people in affected
12:13 communities have literally been sleeping outdoors with the very few belongings that
12:18 they were able to grab before running out of their homes.
12:22 This is in communities that are very high up where it's cold at night and with the oncoming
12:28 rainy season and the oncoming winter, access to shelter is a very key concern.
12:35 At the same time, we're receiving a lot of reports, a lot of requests for food assistance,
12:41 for water, very basic items at this stage.
12:44 So in the coming days and weeks, we'll be focusing on immediate relief and very basic
12:50 items.
12:51 And then we will move to focus on the recovery and reconstruction efforts.
12:57 Kirsten, finally, what in terms of, you know, what Action Aid, as you just spelt out there,
13:05 will be providing?
13:06 Is the team coming out of Madrid or will you be sending teams from elsewhere in Europe?
13:12 Well, we have we've had a team in Morocco for the past 20 years.
13:17 We have a strong work experience in Morocco with Moroccan civil society organizations,
13:23 specifically feminist organizations working on in the field of women's rights.
13:29 So we are already inside the country working with local partners who are the best placed
13:35 in any humanitarian crisis to respond immediately because they know the context, they know the
13:40 needs and they are on the ground.
13:42 So our focus is on supporting our local partners to respond as quickly as possible.
13:48 Kirsten Sutherland from Action Aid, Spain.
13:51 Thank you again for your time.
13:54 Now France is not one of the four countries whose help Rabat has so far accepted, but
13:59 that isn't stopping ordinary French citizens from doing what they can to help those in
14:04 the French former colony, with NGOs springing into action to send urgently needed basic
14:11 goods to the country.
14:12 Camille Knight reports.
14:15 Faced with the disaster that hit Morocco, towns across France have been quick to react.
14:20 In this flea market near Besançon, the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine have been swiftly
14:24 replaced by red and green.
14:27 We're not tied to one country, we're united to help countries and today Morocco is in
14:30 need so we're focusing on that.
14:33 A number of small volunteer groups have sprung into action across France, like here in this
14:37 town in Brittany where medical equipment is being collected.
14:42 Who gave you all that?
14:43 Hospitals gave us this stuff, hospitals near us and two local care homes.
14:50 In Rouen, a halal supermarket is collecting donations.
14:54 In Strasbourg, the Muslim Cultural Institute has been gathering clothes and basic necessities
14:59 from donors.
15:02 This morning I quickly collected what I had at home, so blankets, sheets, you don't know
15:06 what to do with them but you keep them in case they can be useful and well today they
15:10 can be useful.
15:12 Celebrities have also rushed to pledge their support, like comedian Guedel Malet born in
15:16 Morocco or Franco-Moroccan comedian Jamel Debrouze.
15:20 Let's all do our bit to help Morocco and pray that lives will be saved in the hours and
15:25 days ahead.
15:26 From celebrities to anonymous donors, the scale of the unfolding tragedy has shaken
15:30 people across France.
15:33 Now let's cross to Clovis Casali who's at an aid collection point at a local town hall
15:38 in the Paris suburb of Antony.
15:40 Clovis, what kind of help is Antony offering?
15:46 Well Antony has strong cultural links with Morocco and in particular the south of Morocco.
15:51 You even have some employees here at the town hall who come from that area of Morocco who've
15:57 got relatives there so it was only normal for them to very quickly get mobilized, act
16:03 quickly to try to bring much needed help to those suffering from that tragedy in Morocco.
16:10 So here ever since Saturday people have been coming to bring these much needed goods.
16:15 Here you've got diapers, you've got food, you've got all kinds of needs, goods, you've
16:22 got a lot of baby clothes and also other pairs of shoes and so on.
16:28 Anything that can help those suffering in Morocco.
16:32 The question is now how will this be dispatched to Morocco, to those who need it because it's
16:38 a real question, it's very difficult.
16:41 The people here in Antony are telling us they'll be going through NGOs, Moroccan NGOs to make
16:47 sure that it does reach those in need and helps those in Morocco suffering from this
16:56 tragedy.
16:57 So as you can see boxes filling up this ever since Saturday and more goods should be coming
17:06 here and then brought to Morocco in the coming days.
17:10 And the town of Antony also asking factories to help.
17:15 One factory here in the Paris suburb is providing 200 mattresses as well as any kind of objects
17:23 to try to help those in Morocco.
17:27 And Clovis you've been speaking to other NGOs, what have they been telling you about providing
17:32 relief to Morocco?
17:37 Well of course here in France you have big NGOs like the Red Cross, the Secours Populaire
17:42 who are receiving donations and goods for those in Morocco.
17:47 There's a very strong tie between France and Morocco, a strong Moroccan community here
17:52 in France, many dual national.
17:54 So of course this tragedy has shocked and moved people in France.
17:59 But I spoke to the Secours Populaire and also the Franco-Morocco Association on the outskirts
18:04 of Paris in Saint-Denis who are telling me what we really need is money more than goods
18:09 because we're not quite sure how we'll bring the goods to Morocco whereas financial donations
18:15 will help directly those in need.
18:19 And of course these NGOs would like to be able to send staff and rescue workers to Morocco
18:26 but for that they need the authorisation of the Moroccan government.
18:31 If they do get those authorisations of course they'll send staff.
18:36 Clovis Casali reporting there from the town hall in the Paris suburb of Antony, thank
18:41 you.
18:43 Now for some perspective on the economic damage being caused by the quake I'm joined in the
18:48 studio by France 24's Business Editor Brian Quinn.
18:52 Brian, beyond the tragic loss of human life do we have any idea of what the actual cost
18:56 of the earthquake is going to be?
18:58 So in that obvious it's still very early stages here, the focus on finding, rescuing any survivors,
19:03 mourning the dead.
19:04 There is massive property damage though it is estimated that some 300,000 people have
19:11 been affected.
19:12 The US Geological Survey has released a very preliminary estimate that puts the potential
19:17 cost at between 1 and 10 billion dollars, that of course is a very wide range so obviously
19:22 it will take some time to arrive at a more precise figure.
19:25 One factor that is looming large in terms of recovery though is that very few of the
19:29 affected structures will have been insured.
19:32 Newer constructions, buildings owned or financed by European companies or nationals, those
19:38 will probably be insured but the vast majority of traditional houses in Atlas Mountain villages
19:44 for example are likely to not be insured.
19:47 The French reinsurance firm Score has estimated that even in Marrakesh less than 12% of real
19:54 estate properties carry insurance that would cover earthquake damage.
19:58 And let's talk about the rest of one of Morocco's key economic sectors, that of course being
20:03 the tourism industry.
20:04 Yeah and the tourism industry of course critical to the Moroccan economy.
20:09 Last year the country accounted 11 million visitors and 9 billion euros in revenues,
20:16 that accounts for 7% of the country's overall economic activity.
20:21 The tourism industry there is still bouncing back from COVID restrictions but this year
20:25 was set to top pre-pandemic figures with 13 million visitors projected.
20:31 Marrakesh, which has suffered some significant damage, is by far the country's top tourist
20:36 destination.
20:37 3 million tourists were there in 2019.
20:41 Now some hotels in the Red City have noted cancellations and early departures but plenty
20:47 of tourists have stayed and the French Foreign Ministry in fact has not issued any travel
20:51 advisories or warnings with regards to Morocco or Marrakesh.
20:56 The city's merchants are worried but many seem to be hoping that any drop in tourism
21:00 will be temporary.
21:01 Take a listen here.
21:05 Usually tourists stop by our store when they visit the city.
21:09 Yesterday because of what happened there weren't many people, no visitors, no customers.
21:20 This phenomenon reminded us a bit of the COVID pandemic, the rush to the airport and all
21:24 that but I know a lot of people understand it was a natural event that happened so we
21:28 shouldn't panic.
21:31 Now for some more insight on this we can bring in Mohamed Bourhab in Marrakesh.
21:37 He's the former General Secretary of the Tourist Guides Federation.
21:41 Thank you very much for your time.
21:43 Do you have any estimates of how deep the damage could be to the tourism industry in
21:48 Marrakesh and how long it might be expected to last?
21:54 Thank you for the invitation.
21:55 I just want to correct my name, it's Mohamed Bourhab.
22:00 Well I think it does affect tourism because as soon as the earthquake happened people
22:06 came so at least for September.
22:10 But we are so confident about the rest of the season because I've been asking a lot
22:15 of travel agents recently about how bad the cancellations are but they're so confident
22:21 but still October is going to be good and we hope so.
22:26 So there is actually I've been walking around the Medina with a guest, Mr. Andrew, and I
22:33 have seen a lot of shops closed and I understand that because of the crackers on the walls
22:39 the local authorities are waiting to evaluate the situation before authorizing people to
22:47 lay off in these places.
22:48 But here you go, if you're walking in Marrakesh right now you don't feel any terror at all.
22:54 I think after three days people are overcoming the situation and they are coming back to
23:00 life which I guess is going to be a week or two weeks.
23:05 And as far as tourism is concerned, as you know for the last two years of COVID people
23:10 were locked down, did not travel and this will not occur according to me.
23:16 I've been in the business for over 39 years and we have seen worse things than this happening
23:22 around the world.
23:23 So tourism may stop for a while but people still want to travel and I think Marrakesh
23:29 being one of the top 10 visited countries around the world is going to be attracting
23:34 more people.
23:35 I also would like to give the opportunity to some people who decided to come now because
23:41 people are coming, the airport is working, and those who decided to stay.
23:46 So it is, it means that no matter how, life will continue and for sure the numbers will
23:55 decrease as far as the income of tourists for a while because some of the hotels have
24:01 to re-evaluate their structure, whether they have any tax or anything.
24:09 But I guess generally speaking the feeling is good and there is a lot of actually hope
24:15 that things will get going on and come back to the time before COVID.
24:21 Marhama Bouchab, we're going to have to leave it there.
24:24 I do apologise to the viewers for the audio quality of that interview.
24:29 And finally, people across Morocco have been doing their bit by giving blood in the hope
24:33 of helping their fellow citizens, especially in Marrakesh.
24:40 Staff at this Marrakesh blood donation centre usually see around 140 arrivals every day.
24:46 But since Friday's earthquake, the city's residents have turned out in their thousands.
24:54 I'm proud to give my blood.
24:56 I'm proud to see all these people outside who've come in their hundreds, even thousands.
25:01 I'm just as proud to give my blood, even though my health isn't really up to it.
25:09 I have come to help the victims who are in a critical state in hospitals.
25:18 We came from far away.
25:20 We already came here yesterday.
25:23 We waited, but they couldn't take us and we left.
25:27 We even skipped two training sessions to come back today.
25:36 So many have come to try and donate, though, that staff are swamped and have been turning
25:40 people away, asking them to stagger their arrivals over several days.
25:48 Giving blood is the most noble thing you can currently do.
25:52 It gives us the strength to go on.
25:55 We've been doing shift after shift after shift, but this support from the people gives us
25:59 strength to fight and the victims the strength to heal from their wounds.
26:08 That's exactly the kind of strength that Morocco medical staff are going to need in the days
26:12 and weeks ahead.
26:14 As help continues to reach isolated areas, hospitals like the one behind me have cancelled
26:19 all non-critical procedures.
26:21 In the expectation of yet further casualties to come.
26:32 [Music]