The Al Haouz earthquake, which struck on September 8 at night, is considered one of the most dangerous events experienced by Morocco in the year 2023. The magnitude of the earthquake reached 7 degrees on the Richter scale, and its aftershocks reached various cities such as Agadir, Rabat, Casablanca, and even cities in the north. It is one of the strongest earthquakes that struck Morocco, as its magnitude exceeded the Agadir earthquake in the 1960s, whose victims exceeded 15,000.

The earthquake’s epicenter was located in a mountainous area 70 km away from Marrakesh, and it killed 2,946 people, while the number of injured reached 5,674 people.

This sudden natural incident was a shock to Morocco and Moroccans who had just emerged from the Covid-19 crisis, but the sense of national solidarity and the mobilization of the Moroccan authorities contributed to alleviating the severity of the shock. Citizens took individual and collective initiatives to help their stranded brothers and transported humanitarian aid, including blankets and food, which made it possible to reduce the damage to the residents of those difficult areas.

The Royal Court’s announcement of the creation of a special fund to support earthquake victims, with a budget of 120 billion dirhams, was one of the most important initiatives undertaken by the Moroccan state, as the resources of this fund were formed from donations from citizens and companies, state contributions, and foreign aid.

The authorities also decided to alleviate the suffering of the population, to provide direct aid to families whose homes were destroyed, and to rebuild the homes that collapsed.