In the sun-scorched expanse of North Africa, two disasters unfolded. In Morocco a powerful earthquake shook the land and awakened people from their deep slumber on Sept. 8 at 11:32 p.m. Shortly after, on Sept. 12 at 8:40 a.m., a little to the east in the heart of Libya, vast floods destroyed everything in their path and left people shocked and helpless.
It was 11:32 p.m. in the historical city of Marrakesh, Morocco on Sept. 8. Many people were asleep, and then suddenly the ground started to shake. Street lights swayed from side to side, bricks fell from houses and people were suddenly jolted awake.
Unfortunately, some people didn’t have enough time to react and were instantly buried under the rubble. Those who were awake or had the chance to react to the situation had to deal and experience what misery was happening right before their eyes. Marrakesh, one of the oldest cities in Morocco dating to around 1072, has very old infrastructure. This caused the damage to be even more severe because these 1,000 year old buildings were not built to withstand these kinds of disasters. On that day about 3,000 Moroccan people lost their lives.
Mr. Giomi, a history teacher at Bret Harte Middle School, said, “I think that people in Morocco should accept what they have been through and unite together to help reduce the damage of any disasters that might come in the future.” Now is the time to assess what has gone wrong and work on it to prevent any further situations like this.
One idea that has been presented is that Morocco should now rebuild their infrastructure with modern material that can withstand earthquakes and many other disasters. For example, in Japan, the buildings are built with certain types of springs that help the building stay upright while still holding on to the ground.
Just 500 miles to the east a disaster unfolded in Derna, Libya on Sept. 12. Heavy rainfall caused dams to overflow which in turn caused flooding to the whole city. About 11,300 people lost their lives, and the number is still rising.
Libyan Sage Creek High School student Nasr Saleem said, “The flood in Libya has affected me personally because we don’t even know if all our family is safe and alive.”
This is the issue for many Libyan and Moroccan people who live in foreign countries: With limited contact due to broken power lines and cell towers, people living in these countries have a hard time communicating with their family. All they can do is hope for the best and wait patiently for any news.
Sage Creek High School student Hussam Ezeddin said, “I think the average person can help Morocco and Libya by talking about the situation to a local charity or simply making a GoFundMe.”
People in Morocco and Libya need help to rebuild their cities. Making donations to GoFundMe would help these two countries immensely.
