Quake-devastated Morocco accepts aid, after two days of waiting

Historic synagogues among damaged buildings, Jewish Joint Distribution Committee providing aid on ground.

Two days after a devastating earthquake hit Morocco, killing more than 2600 people in the Marrakesh region and overwhelming the country’s rescuers, Rabat had yet to accept offers of assistance pouring in from around the world.

An estimated 300,000 people affected by the quake relied on existing aid agencies in Morocco, including a large UN rescue contingent, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), which has operated in the country since 1947.

The JDC is partnering with the Jewish community of Morocco to provide immediate relief such as food, medicine, temporary shelter, and medical support, including evacuation.

Yesterday international rescue teams, including a major contingent from Israel, were finally able to join the relief effort after the Moroccan government permitted their entry. The death toll is expected to rise and another 2000 people are injured from the earthquake, the strongest to hit Morocco in more than 120 years.

Israeli humanitarian aid groups SmartAID, IsraAID, United Hatzalah and NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief have dispatched teams to Morocco to help the locals in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake that rocked the African country over the weekend.