Morocco earthquake: MSF teams witness “horrible devastation”

Everybody's exhausted. They're working with the supplies that they had available at the time, but are starting to run low. The Moroccan authorities, Red Crescent volunteers, and Moroccan military have been mobilized. Mattresses have been distributed so people can sleep outside, along with distribution of water and food for people that don't have access. Additionally, there are ambulances moving back and forth between the epicenter and referral hospitals so people in villages can be evacuated quickly to where they can be treated.

We were also able to visit other villages near the epicenter and witnessed horrible devastation. There's nothing left but rubble and rocks. In the bigger cities, the more modern buildings seem to have held up pretty well, but a lot of the traditional buildings and the smaller villages have just been completely destroyed.

There's an ongoing search for survivors in the rubble. Tractors and forklifts are driving around trying to move the rocks away to see if we can find people trapped underneath. The most acute phase is probably over now and it's looking less and less likely that we'll find anyone alive, but they might still be able to find dead bodies to properly bury them.

MSF is making an assessment to see where the needs are and how we can help the Moroccan authorities with their response. We're meeting different hospital directors to see if there are needs in terms of human resources or pharmacy supplies or logistical needs that we can support in the coming days.