Living close to one of Canada’s most earthquake-prone regions, Nelson, B.C. resident Fiona Richards has experienced her share of tremors.
But none prepared her for the magnitude 6.8 quake that struck Morocco late Friday night while she was staying in Marrakech’s Medina quarter during a week-long vacation in the North African country.
“This one was terrifying,” she told CTVNews.ca in an interview over WhatsApp on Saturday. “It was the scariest thing I think any of us have ever been in.”
Outside, in the busy historic district, she said, “the screaming started as soon as the trembling started.”
Richards is visiting Morocco with her husband and two friends from Vancouver. The four were relaxing inside their rented home in the middle of the city’s old quarter when the largest quake to hit Morocco in 120 years struck.
“It was so strong, it was so powerful. It felt like the floor was moving under your feet and you could feel the vibrations just all through your body. And everything was moving and rumbling,” she said. Richards said the shaking went on for what felt like 30 to 40 seconds.
“Occasionally we would look up because I think we just we were expecting the walls to come down. And we’ve got cracks in the walls today, but we feel safe.”
Others weren’t so lucky. Officials in Morocco said the quake – which toppled buildings and walls from villages in the country’s Atlas Mountains to the ancient city of Marrakech – has killed at least 1,305 people and injured 1,832. Deaths are concentrated mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the quake’s epicentre, Morocco’s Interior Ministry reported Saturday morning, and the death toll is expected to climb as rescue and recovery efforts in heavily damaged areas continue.
A photo by Canadian Fiona Richards shows the damage in Marrakech’s Medina quarter following a deadly earthquake in Morocco on Friday night. (Fiona Richards photo)
Among the injured, the ministry wrote, 721 were in critical condition.
Across Marrakech, including in the crowded Medina, where Richards is staying, the force of the quake drove families into the streets, fearful their homes would collapse. Many, like the family next door to Richards’ rental home, spent Friday night outside.
“They stayed outside all night long and crying and screaming,” she said. “We went outside and we invited them in because our place was fine and tried to console them. This morning they’re still out there. They were too scared to go back into the building.”
Surveying the damage outside several hours after the quake, Richards said some streets were littered with rubble from collapsed buildings and smashed clay from pottery stands, while on others, people went about their business as usual among buildings that looked untouched by the damage.
Richards said she doesn’t know how the natural disaster will affect the remainder of her travel plans, but that she’s grateful her group still has access to shelter, electricity and running water.
“We have some plans, but I don’t know if those plans will still be valid,” she said.
“It’s a trip to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Marrakech, and now it’s taken on a different meaning.”
REACTION IN CANADA
In a tweet on Saturday morning, Federal Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Canada’s thoughts are with all of those affected by the disaster and urged Canadians in Morocco to register with Global Affairs Canada.
In a statement Satuday evening, Global Affairs Canada said it has been contact with 30 Canadian citizens in Morocco and is not aware of any Canadians killed or injured in the quake. There are 4,763 Canadians listed in the Registration of Canadians Abroad lliving in Morocco.
“Canadian consular officials stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens if needed,” Global Affairs said.
As for Canadians with direct ties to Morocco, about 100,000 residents of Canada claimed Moroccan heritage in the 2021 census.
In Quebec, where more than 81,000 residents identified as Moroccan as of 2021, local and provincial leaders used social media to show solidarity with the Moroccan community.
“My thoughts are with the Moroccan people,” Premier Francois Legault wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Marrakech, Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir, Essaouira, all magnificent cities that I have visited.”
“The images coming in from Morocco, after the country was hit by an earthquake, are heartbreaking,” Mayor Valerie Plante tweeted on Friday night. “Tonight, an entire community has been shaken. My thoughts are with Montrealers of Moroccan origin. Our hearts go out to you.”
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Abdelhaq Sari, a Moroccan Montreal city councillor, verified that members of his family in the capital city of Rabat are safe, but said other members of the community have struggled to get information from rural areas of the country.
“What I know about the tragedy is in the urban places … we can have communication, we can have like information,” he told The Canadian Press. “However when we go to the rural places it’s very hard.”
Several aid organizations have launched emergency response funds to help those affected by the quake, including Oxfam Canada, while others say they are monitoring the situation in Morocco.
– With files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
A photo by Canadian Fiona Richards shows the damage in Marrakech’s Medina quarter following a deadly earthquake in Morocco on Friday night. (Fiona Richards photo)
