Morocco Earthquake Appeal
Donation options can be seen here
On Friday 8 September 2023 an earthquake of 6.8 magnitude struck Morocco causing widespread devastation. The epicentre is believed to have been in the High Atlas Mountains, some 75km south of Marrakesh and tremors were felt in the capital Rabat 350km away.
At the time of writing almost 3000 deaths have been reported with a similar number injured. Both rural and urban areas have been affected, with reports of entire rural villages flattened and people sleeping in the open in the major southern city of Marrakesh. Infrastructure has been badly affected, blocked roads hampered rescue efforts and many people were trapped under rubble.
We are liaising with our country partners in Disaster Aid International and trying to establish contacts in Morocco via Rotary International. It is highly likely that our expertise in shelter and safe water solutions will be of enormous benefit. Time is of the essence and we are launching an urgent appeal to provide aid.
Please help us give the affected people in Morocco ‘a hand up, not a hand-out’
Disaster Aid UK & Ireland
Disaster Aid UK & Ireland is one of the founding partners of Disaster Aid International (DAI). DAI is an international organisation, involving Rotary Clubs around the world, with the mission to:
- Respond to disasters with the supply of humanitarian aid to the affected communities and/or individuals.
- Work in partnership on humanitarian projects funded by other organisations including Rotary clubs and Rotary districts.
In contrast to many other disaster-response groups, our aim is also to provide an infrastructure that allows affected communities to regain their normal lives.
If your organisation, club or group would like a speaker for your meetings, we would be very happy speak about Disaster Aid UK & Ireland, and answer any questions they might have.
Please contact us with suggested details of the time and date of the meeting. Email: admin@disasteraiduk.org
View video for the role of DARTS
Deployments
What do DARTs do?:
- Conduct an assessment of the disaster and local needs;
- Coordinate with relevant governments, aid agencies and the affected communities to ensure that aid is deployed where most effective;
- Manage the effective distribution of equipment, tents etc. to the sites of deployment;
- Train members of the local community so that they can be involved in the distribution and deployment of the equipment, tents etc.;
- Work to ensure that deployments are designed to support longer term sustainability;
- Monitor and evaluate our deployments to ensure that both the products we are deploying as well as the means of distribution are relevant, effective and reach out to the most vulnerable.