Morocco (MNN) — Teams from Spain, Britain, and Qatar are joining search and rescue efforts in Morocco.
Friday’s 6.8 magnitude earthquake near Marrakech, Morocco – the deadliest since 1960 and most potent tremor since 1900 – has killed more than 2,500 people and destroyed scores of historical sites. Aftershocks and damaged roads block efforts to find survivors and deliver aid.
The death toll from Friday’s historic earthquake soars as aid workers reach new territory in the epicenter. Rasheed*, a Moroccan pastor, says, “The statistic today is over 2,500 died, but I’m sure [it’s] more; I think more than 3,000 [or] 4,000 [people died.]”
Pastor Rasheed leads Tifaouin, a ministry based in Casablanca. Learn more here. “The office [is] in Casablanca, but we have team ministry in Marrakech and a church in old Medina,” he says.
“Many people are outside the houses [with no] food [or] blankets. People died under the houses.”
Most earthquake survivors are doing what they can to survive outside. Fearing aftershocks, they avoid remnant structures – even if it means braving the elements.
Over 20 Muslim-background believers living in or near Marrakech lost their homes and livelihoods.
“[On] Wednesday, [a team from Casablanca will] move to the Marrakech area [to start] working with that team and with the people affected, [bringing] food, blankets, medicine,” Pastor Rasheed says.
Please pray for local believers as they deliver help for today and hope for tomorrow.
*Name changed for security purposes
Header image courtesy of Pastor Rasheed/Tifaouin Ministry.
