A magnitude 3.9 aftershock rattled Moroccans on Sunday as they prayed for victims of the nation's strongest earthquake in more than a century and worked to rescue survivors while soldiers and workers brought water and supplies to mountain villages in ruins. More than 2,000 people are dead - a number that is expected to rise.
The United Nations estimated that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night's magnitude 6.8 quake and some Moroccans complained on social networks that the government wasn't allowing more help from outside. International aid crews were prepared to deploy, but remained in limbo waiting for the Morocco government to request their assistance.
The earthquake on Friday toppled buildings not built to withstand such a mighty quake, trapping people in the rubble and sending others fleeing in terror. A total of 2,012 people were confirmed dead and at least 2,059 more people were injured - 1,404 of them critically - Morocco's Interior Ministry reported Saturday night.
Aid offers have poured in from around the world and the U.N. said it had a team in Morocco coordinating with authorities about how international partners can provide support. About 100 teams made up of a total of 3,500 rescuers from around the world are registered with a U.N. platform and ready to deploy in Morocco when asked, Rescuers Without Borders said.
About 45 kilometers northeast of the quake epicenter, fallen walls exposed the innards of damaged homes, and piles of rubble blocked alleys. In Moulay Brahim, a poor rural community of less than 3,000 people, many of the homes made of clay brick and cinder block were no longer safe or no longer standing.
Some Marrakech shop owners returned to work Sunday morning, after the king encouraged economic activities to resume nationwide and ordered plans to begin to reconstruct destroyed buildings.
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