A deadly earthquake struck Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains on Friday, September 8, 2023, affecting more than 300,000 people and turning cities to rubble. The quake hit around 11:11 p.m. local time and was measured to have had a magnitude of 6.8, making it the first in over 100 years to be stronger than a magnitude of 6. Surrounding cities and towns of Marrakech, Taroudant, and homes in an area of the Asni Village have felt the most effects.

Those who did survive the initial shock are now facing an entirely different problem. With struggles to find food and water prevailing alongside the fear of returning to their homes after the warning of aftershocks spread through the city, many residents of Marrakech have found themselves hopeless.  

Search parties have intensified over the past three days, with Turkey, Qatar, Spain, and other countries offering their support and aid. President Joe Biden released a statement of his own on Saturday night, expressing his devastation and sadness. “We are working expeditiously to ensure American Citizens in Morocco are safe and stand ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Moroccan people,” he stated. 

“We know there is a great urgency to save people and dig under the remains of buildings,” founder of Rescuers Without Borders Arnaud Fraisse told BBC News. “There are people dying under the rubble and we cannot do anything to save them.” 

King Mohammed VI has thanked numerous countries for their support. Because the hardest-hit spots are deep in the High Atlas Mountains, they are hard to reach, and it will take some time to fully recover many areas. “We are just waiting,” a man from a town of Asni told CNN. “There’s nothing else we can do.”