The High Atlas Mountains were the center of Morocco’s deadly earthquake. Villages in the region were reduced to rubble, and lives were lost. Author Alice Morrison, who lives in one of these villages, reports her and her neighbors’ experiences on the ground.
When the earthquake struck, I was sound asleep. I was jolted awake by a vicious booming sound. I knew instinctively it was an earthquake and leaped for the door. The walls of my house were moving in and out, like some kind of claustrophobic nightmare.
I ran barefoot into our communal yard, trying to stay away from the mountain and my neighbors’ houses on the left and the drop down on the right. It was pitch black. Under my feet, the earth rolled and bucked. I thought I was going to die.
I have been living in the Atlas Mountains in central Morocco for four years in an Amazigh (Berber) compound with four families. Adventure first brought me here. I had signed up for the Everest Trail Race, an ultra race where you run around Everest, and I needed to train at altitude. Imlil was the perfect place to be based and I already knew and liked it from my hiking experiences. The landscape and the people have captured my heart and I am still here long after I completed the race.
We are around 25 people: Our youngest is one and the grandfather is 100. That night, we all sped down the mountain to a safe spot in the car park and huddled together, shaking with fear.
The next morning, we went back to assess the damage. My new concrete house was intact but the neighbors’ traditional houses all had large cracks in them. Our village was completely cut off. The road was blocked by boulders and there was no electricity or mobile signal. We had no news.
I got on my bike and headed for the nearest town, 16 kilometers away. The road looked apocalyptic: Giant boulders were strewn across it and there were gashes and cracks in the tarmac. Streams of people were walking down. There were hikers heading for safety, and Moroccans looking for news of their families, and mules carrying gear.
For the next three days, I cycled or hitched lifts around the region to see what had happened and report my findings on the earthquake. The next valley down from us towards Ijoukak had fared the worst. So many houses had been reduced to dust and rubble. The search and rescue operation was in full swing.
I spoke to one rescuer who was covered in sweat and grime: “I pulled 10 people out of the rubble. They were dead. I pulled them out so their families could bury them,” he told me.
A group of men were searching through what had been a row of houses and was now a pile of earth. They were trying to rescue any useful household items they could. A teenage boy was standing on top. His mother and brother had died. He looked around aimlessly and in shock.
The situation got worse further down the valley. A gendarme (police officer) told me of a village totally buried by the mountains near the end of the road. Sirens sounded constantly as ambulances passed by.
Tented camps have been set up everywhere. Everyone is afraid to go back inside overnight, including my neighbors. On Friday night, I slept with them, all the women and children snuggled up in one tent for safety and warmth. It was comforting to be all together.
The Moroccan spirit cannot be daunted. On Monday, as I was walking past the tented camps of the now homeless in Asni, I was constantly invited to share hospitality. “Come and have tea with us, thank God for safety,” was a typical invite I heard.
Kids ran in and out of houses, or what was left of them, playing. One little boy giggled as I joined him in singing ‘Frere Jacques’ as he beat time with a stick on a plastic stool.
All of us are already starting to look to the future. Those who still have houses need to have them inspected and cleared for safety so they can go back. “I miss my home so badly,” Rachida, my neighbor, told me this morning, with her hand over her heart. Those who are homeless need to have proper shelter because winter is coming and it is brutally cold here. The Moroccan government and the international community are working hard.
I have had hundreds of messages of support from people around the world asking how they can support the people most affected. The concern and warm-heartedness are wonderful, and there are some very practical things people can do.
In the short term, a donation to The Intrepid Foundation Moroccan Earthquake Appeal would make a real difference. The Intrepid team in Morocco is working tirelessly to support those affected and you can help, too.
In the longer term, come and visit. Make Morocco your next destination. We need tourism to sustain businesses and families. Almost every household here in Imlil has someone working in tourism. The infrastructure is back up and running and visitors will boost morale, give a sense of purpose, and bring money into the mountains and the afflicted areas. We look forward to welcoming you.
***
You can help the people of Morocco by giving to the Intrepid Foundation’s Morocco Earthquake Appeal. Funds will be distributed to two long-term partners in the worst-hit part of Morocco, the Atlas Mountains. These funds will provide immediate relief for local communities that need it most.
Alice Morrison is a Scottish adventurer based in Morocco and has written four books about her adventures. The presenter of the BBC2 series 'Morocco to Timbuktu', she has cycled from Cairo to Cape Town, run round Everest, and completed the Marathon des Sables, the toughest footrace on Earth. She has also crossed Morocco and the Sahara on foot with 6 camels and walked the length of Jordan. She speaks Arabic and French, and is learning Tachelhit.
