Morocco earthquake: Those who survived the earthquake are now bracing for the cold and rain of winter
From a distance the town of Moulay Brahim looks pretty much abandoned.
Even when we arrived, I could only see a handful of people in small pockets sitting under tarpaulin sheets.
We walked through deserted streets, lined by destroyed houses, I felt like we were alone.
Morocco’s deadly earthquake – in pictures
But as we walked through a narrow alleyway with teetering buildings towering over us, we started to hear the murmur of people.
Turning the corner, we were greeted by the sight of hundreds of men, women, and children sitting in a makeshift camp, in a sort of large courtyard.
Zahera Benaddi says she has been well looked after since the quake
Children ran around while their mothers chatted, and the men began to unload a consignment of large tents that have been donated.
This is their life now – survivors – but a life in limbo, and worst of all, and they are all talking about it, they are sitting here knowing the rains of winter will begin and the temperature will plummet.
Although there is progress reaching the communities still cut off from the world by this earthquake, many still rely on relief supplies dropped off the backs of chinooks.
They will be rescued once the impassable mountain roads are cleared, but it will take time.
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‘Where are these people going to go?’
The problem for the relief effort is that it covers huge, remote areas.
And even in towns that have been reached they still have to fend for themselves and build cover, and they are doing it between buildings that are clearly unsafe and could collapse at any time.
The biggest concern for the earthquake survivors here is the weather.
They are homeless, and living on the street, in the rubble.
So far there is no clue how they will be looked after in the weeks and months ahead.
53-year-old Zahera Benaddi says they have been well looked after with food and shelter donations, but the weather is her absolute biggest concern.
“The problem is the cold and rain is coming,” she told me.
“Only God knows what will happen in the future, and how long we will sleep in the street, or if we can find someone to build us a room to stay out of the cold… The winter is coming, it will rain and there will be lots of water on the ground, that’s the problem.”
This village is built into the side of a mountain and floods in the rainy season are common.
Zahera worries when the water comes it will sweep through their tents, making them uninhabitable and probably causing damaged houses to collapse.
The whole town is unstable already.
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Hasnaa Zahrite has the same fears. I met her as she washed her family’s clothes in a plastic bucket in the street.
She shows me her arms and hands, they are bruised and swollen.
Hasnaa Zahrite washes her family’s clothes in a plastic bucket in the street
Using her bare hands, Hasnaa dug through the rubble of her collapsed home to rescue her two children.
She saved their lives, but what now, she asks.
“I am anxious about the future because I have very small children, the house is gone, and now we find ourselves in the street – we don’t have anywhere to go, and now the cold and the winter is coming… we don’t have any clothes, nowhere to live, we are homeless, as you can see.”
This emergency is still in its early days of course, but you get the sense more problems are just around the corner.
There are of course no answers about the future right now because the present disaster continues.
So the thousands of survivors high in the Atlas Mountains simply have to wait, bedding down outside night after night.
This disaster is ongoing, it might even get worse.
Pakistan has launched attacks on “multiple targets” across India, according to the media wing of Pakistan’s military.
Pakistan said in a statement that retaliatory attacks are underway in response to what it called “continuous provocation” by India, which fired missiles at three air bases inside Pakistan.
“Multiple targets in this operation are being engaged all across India,” the statement from Pakistan Armed Forces (PAF) said.
Pakistan’s military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to strike more than 25 military sites, including airbases and weapons depots in the Indian states of Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan, as well as locations in India-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan’s military posted footage on X showing missiles being fired from what appeared to be a mobile launcher.
Pic: MilitaryPakISPR
The AP news agency also said loud explosions have been heard in India-administered Kashmir, in the disputed region’s two big cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.
Meanwhile, an Indian military source told Reuters that India has launched air operations in Pakistan, although no further details were given.
The operations mark the latest escalation in a conflict between the two nuclear-armed rivals, triggered by a deadly attack last month in India-administered Kashmir.
Most of the 26 civilians killed were Hindu Indian tourists. India blames Pakistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Command Authority, the body which takes security decisions, including those related to the country’s nuclear arsenal.
State-run Pakistan television said three air bases were struck by India on Friday, although Pakistan insisted most of the missiles had been intercepted.
Despite the military offensive, PAF also posted a message on X in what appeared to represent an opportunity to de-escalate the situation.
“Now that a response has been given we hope the neighbour [India] will move to dialogue and diplomacy like Civilized Nations,” it said.
In recent days, both countries have launched a series of missile and drone strikes, although the scale and impact have been consistently questioned by each other.
On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.
On Thursday, India claimed to have repelled drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu in India-administered Kashmir. Meanwhile, India claimed it struck Pakistan’s air defence systems and radars close to the city of Lahore.
A damaged house in Jammu, in Indian-administered Kashmir, after a Pakistani drone attack. Pic: AP
The Indian army said on Friday that Pakistan fired about 300 to 400 drones, targeting military installations along the western borders – a claim strongly denied by Pakistan.
The G7 group of advanced economies, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and Britain, urged maximum restraint from both India and Pakistan.
“We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome,” a statement issued on Friday said.
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World
European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia
Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.
The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Follow latest updates on the Ukraine war
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kiev. Pic: Reuters
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
World
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Explained: India-Pakistan conflict
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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