Morocco announces three-day mourning period following earthquake tragedy

After a deadly earthquake struck Morocco, claiming over 2000 lives with more than 2000 injured, the country on Saturday declared three days of national mourning, according to an announcement from the royal palace.

“Three days of national mourning have been decided, with flags to fly at half-mast on all public buildings,” said the statement published by the official MAP news agency.

The statement was released after King Mohammed VI chaired a meeting to discuss the disaster.

The meeting was called after the deadliest earthquake to hit North Africa in decades struck southwest of Marrakesh, a popular tourist destination, on Friday night.

The quake left at least 2,012 people dead and 2,059 injured, many of them seriously, Al-Arabiya reported.

Following an official briefing, the king issued an order mandating the immediate creation of a “commission responsible for the deployment of an emergency rehabilitation and aid programme on rebuilding destroyed housing in disaster areas.”

He further ordered to ensure “the care of distressed people, particularly orphans and the vulnerable” and that “accommodation, food, and all other basic needs” be made available to those who needed it, as well as the establishment of a special account at the central bank for aid donations.