West News Wire: Following the unusual and strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked Morocco Friday night, the death toll has kept rising.
The current death toll in Morocco is 2,681.
Morocco experienced its largest earthquake in more than a century when it struck the High Atlas mountain range close to Marrakech.
There are at least 2,501 more injuries.
The province of Taroudant experienced the second-highest number of fatalities after the province of Al-Haouz, which was home to the epicentre.
Local TV claimed that several portions of the village of Amizmiz have been completely destroyed. The Red Cross said that the damage cleanup might take years.
As the death toll continues to grow, Algeria has provided humanitarian assistance and has offered to open its airspace to allow future humanitarian relief or medical evacuation aircraft into and out of neighbouring Morocco.
The airspace was shut off after the nation, which is bordered to the west by Morocco, cut diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021 over a number of disagreements. The Western Sahara region has been a source of contention between the nations for many years.
Algeria stated it is prepared to provide humanitarian aid “in solidarity with the brotherly Moroccan people, in case the authorities of the Moroccan kingdom express a wish for this,” according to a statement sent by the office of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Saturday.
The statement also offered condolences for the dead and “deepest compassion” for the injured.
In a written statement, President Biden expressed his “deep sadness” over the deaths and destruction brought on by the earthquake in Morocco.
The president added, “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by this terrible hardship.” Officials from Morocco are in touch with my government. We are moving quickly to protect the safety of American individuals in Morocco, and we are prepared to help the Moroccan people in any way that they require. In this trying time, the United States supports Morocco and my friend King Mohammed VI.
