The new death toll of the powerful 7-magnitude earthquake that hit Morocco, on Friday at 11.11 p.m., reached 2,122, in addition to 2,421 injured, according to an update by the Interior Ministry on Sunday (until 4 p.m.).
The new deaths were recorded in Al Haouz (1,351), Taroudant (492), Chichaoua (201), and Marrakech (17).
No further fatalities were reported in Ouarzazate, Azilal, Agadir, Greater Casablanca, Youssoufia and Tinghir.
As soon as King Mohammed VI landed in Morocco on Saturday, after cutting short a private visit to France, he convened in Rabat an emergency meeting to assess the damage that the central regions suffered, with reconstruction efforts on top of the agenda.
The sovereign had ordered the military to urgently deploy important human and logistical resources, and air and land special intervention units to assist the populations that were affected by the earthquake. The sovereign had also instructed the military to set up a medical-surgical field hospital to offer onsite medical care.
Qatar and Spain had already dispatched special intervention units (the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group, and Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) to help with relief efforts in Morocco.
Other countries are waiting Morocco’s okay to send their rescue teams, such as Senegal, France, and Tunisia.