Cautious searchers retrieved the body of a 25-year-old girl from the rubble of a village that was obliterated by Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in over six decades.
The girl’s fiancé, Omar Ait Mbarek, wept as he watched the scene unfold on September 10. They lived in the village of Tikht, home to 100 households, located just a few kilometers from the Atlas Mountains, the epicenter of the earthquake that struck on the night of September 8.
The village of Tikht heavily damaged by the earthquake on the night of September 8. (Photo: AFP).
Omar Ait Mbarek told AFP: “What do you want me to say? I am in pain.” The body of Omar’s fiancée was covered with a blanket and taken to a temporary cemetery where 68 other bodies had already been buried.
Mohssin Aksum, a 33-year-old resident of Tikht, painfully remarked: “Life ends here. The village is dead.”
Like many other villages in Morocco severely affected by the magnitude 6.8 earthquake on the night of September 8, Tikht is a small rural village with many structures built traditionally from stone, wood, and mortar mixed with mud.
Abdelrahman Edjal, a 23-year-old student, admitted he lost most of his family in this earthquake disaster: “This is not something people think about when building houses.” Abdelrahman Edjal himself pulled his father from the rubble of their family home. Unfortunately, his father succumbed to his injuries.
According to AFP, exposed steel reinforcement bars can still be seen protruding from the debris in Tikht, indicating that modern construction techniques had been applied in local buildings.
Most of the houses in Tikht village have been flattened. (Photo: AFP).
On September 10, members of Morocco’s civil protection forces set up folding beds inside tents erected for temporary shelter for residents. Nonprofit organizations also arrived in the area to assess the needs of the villagers, providing not just shelter but also food and drinking water.
Some shared that they are still in shock over the sudden losses and the extent of the devastation, making it difficult to discuss the next steps. However, Omar Ait Mbarek expressed certainty about one thing: “I will rebuild my house.”
The earthquake on the night of September 8 in Morocco claimed at least 2,122 lives and injured over 2,400 people. According to Moroccan media, more than 18,000 households were affected. The Moroccan government declared a three-day national mourning period. As of noon on September 10, all public buildings across the country were flying flags at half-mast.
