FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 12, 2023

Cologne. An assessment team from Malteser International (MI) reached Marrakech on Monday evening and will be working in the Atlas Mountains during the coming days to get an idea of what those affected by the earthquake need most. MI is working together with its local partners to provide urgently needed help and is in close contact with the Embassy of the Order of Malta to Morocco.

“The scale of destruction that I have seen today, especially in the villages in the Atlas Mountains, is severe. In some villages, not a single house has been spared. The people here are now in urgent need of food and drinking water, as well as tents and beds. Many of them simply have nothing left,” says Oliver Hochedez, head of Malteser International’s emergency relief department.

Last weekend, Morocco experienced its worst earthquake in around 100 years. According to current figures, more than 2,800 people died in the 6.8 magnitude earthquake, more than 2,500 are injured. Unicef estimates that around 100,000 children are affected by the impacts.

Attention editors:
Oliver Hochedez, Head of the Emergency Department of Malteser International is available for interviews and sound bites.

Press Contact: Ximena Greenhouse, ximena.greenhouse(at)malteser-international.org

Malteser International Americas is an affiliate of Malteser International and is the worldwide relief and development organization of the Sovereign Order of Malta. The organization provides aid to people in need in around 140 projects in 36 countries, regardless of their religion, gender, origin, or political convictions. Christian values and humanitarian principles form the basis of its work. Further information: www.orderofmaltarelief.org  

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