Climate change has proven to be a significant factor in creating new natural disasters in the world, leading to record-breaking earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and more.
Recently, the North African countries of Libya and Morocco were both hit by unprecedented natural disasters - Libya by massive flooding and Morocco by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake.
Survivors of both the Libya floods and Morocco earthquake face dire circumstances as they try to recover with little resources. Read on to learn more about their situations and how you can help them:
Morocco’s devastating earthquake
On September 8th, 2023, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake (the worst in 120 years) struck Morocco during the middle of the night in the High Atlas Mountains, with a depth of 11.5 miles. Several remote villages were devastated and the quake also impacted the city of Marrakesh, home to 840,000 people. Additionally, hundreds of aftershocks have occurred since, with the highest magnitude aftershock being a 5.9 aftershock.
To date, at least 500,000 Moroccans have been displaced by the earthquake, with 380,000 of them living within 30 miles from the Morocco earthquake’s epicenter and being severely affected. Broader government estimates place the number of Moroccans affected at potentially being over 2,000,000 people. The quake also damaged over 59,000 homes and destroyed 19,000 others.
Aid and infrastructure recovery have both been challenging, with the most affected areas being very remote and several being accessible only via motorbikes or donkeys. Additionally, the residents of these villages are mostly impoverished and already lack sufficient resources to survive comfortably. Rescuers and aid workers are still working tirelessly to help survivors rebuild their lives.
Libya’s record flooding
Over the weekend of September 9th, 2023, Storm Daniel struck northeastern Libya, dropping the equivalent of eight months of rain into the region, collapsing two dams. The 30 million cubic meters of water that flooded in swept away entire neighborhoods and submerged over 25% of the city of Derna, with the cities of Sousa, Al Bayada and Al Makhaili also being heavily affected.
Currently, over 4,000 people have been confirmed dead and 10,000 are reported as still missing from the Libya floods. Additionally, 63% of hospitals and 52% of health centers in the flood-affected region are either non or partially functional, making healthcare for survivors extremely hard to access. The healthcare centers that remain and morgues are overwhelmed as survivors and bodies continue to be pulled from the widespread damage.
How you can help Morocco and Libya
Your charity can help Moroccan and Libyan climate disaster survivors rebuild their lives after losing everything they had.
With our 100% Donation Policy, 100% of your support for their relief will go towards their immediate emergency aid and provide items like medical supplies, food packs, tents and more.
