Manitoba's Moroccan community scrambles to contact family, provide support after deadly earthquake

Manitobans with ties to Morocco are trying to find ways to support the North African country after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Marrakesh area late Friday night.

"Our heart is with them. We are trying to see how we could help them," said Jouwairia Lahboub-Daayf, president of the Atlas Moroccan Association of Manitoba.

The quake was the biggest to hit Morocco in 120 years. It has killed more than 2,000 and injured about 2,000 more.

The epicentre was near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province, about 70 kilometres south of Marrakech, an area known for scenic villages built into the High Atlas mountainsides.

Lahboub-Daayf said the city's Moroccan community are trying to keep in touch with their families, who fear another aftershock might hit the area.

"We are still in shock and we are very sad. We are in constant communication with our families," she told CBC on Saturday.

"They just don't know what will happen," Lahboub-Daayf added. "If there will be another one."

Aerial footage shows Morocco after devastating earthquake

1 year ago

Duration 0:46

Video from Moroccan state television, shared by CNN, shows the damage caused by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people and damaged buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech.

Lahboub-Daayf said the Marrakech area is a well-known tourist destination. Damage was mostly confined to the buildings near the mountains, since they aren't built to withstand such a catastrophe, she said.

People can reach out to the Atlas Moroccan Association of Manitoba to offer donations, Lahboub-Daayf said.

Philip Houde, honorary consul for the Kingdom of Morocco in Manitoba, said he'll be speaking with other honourary consuls across Canada on Sunday to figure out how they can provide support.

"At this point, we don't know what those challenges are, what their needs might be," he said.

Houde said they're prepared to try to offer whatever support is needed, whether that be raising funds or sending volunteers to help.

"Right now we're in a fact gathering situation to try to determine what are the best measures we could offer," he told CBC on Saturday.

Lahboub-Daayf said the community is trying to stay optimistic, but with the death and injury toll rising, it's proving to be difficult.

"We are just praying," she said.