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What a Trip to Morocco After a Devastating Earthquake Taught Me About Visiting a Destination in Recovery

Here's what to consider when booking a trip after tragedy, according to travel experts.

3yephotography/Getty Images

The line of horse-drawn carriages was long, and proud: tidy rows of emerald green vehicles, with the minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque for a backdrop. But there were few takers for a late afternoon ride, even in the stifling October heat. 

My husband and I had just crossed Marrakesh ’s famed Jemaa el Fnaa Square, marveling at the brightly colored stalls of fruits, vegetables, and spices. Yet the square, named a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2001, felt nothing like it did when we’d last visited, a decade ago. Back then, we saw snake charmers and artisans and tourists from all over the world embracing the chaos. This time, the noise was now turned down a notch, save for the occasional putter of a motorcycle; the lyrical call to prayer; or an eager vendor, beckoning us to "come have a look! "

That’s because this trip to Marrakesh came just one month after a deadly 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco , inflicting great loss of life and structural damage, mainly in the villages of the Atlas Mountains. Marrakesh was not unscathed; there were a few casualties and some buildings in the medina collapsed. Walking the winding alleyways with our guide, Mohammed Bousekri, we occasionally saw steel beams, acting as reinforcement. (And visitors today will see the Koutoubia Mosque, which dates to the 12th century, is now clad in scaffolding due to repairs.)

Other parts of the city seemed to be untouched; the airport was the same as ever, and many hotels and resorts were open for business, including the iconic La Mamounia , celebrating its 100th anniversary with a gala weekend featuring local dignitaries and celebrities like Mika and French pianist Sofiane Pamart. Those working at shops and restaurants welcomed us in; I bought a chunky, stone Berber necklace in the medina, chatting casually with the shopkeeper, a friend of Bousekri’s. He remarked how yes, things were a bit slow. 

Stefano Barzellotti/Getty Images

Business owners, still feeling the impact of COVID closures over the last few years, were trying to cope with this new setback. “The mindset in Marrakesh is we need to band together,” said Nick Minucciani, co-founder of fashion brand Marrakshi Life , which sells chic shirts, jackets, and dresses. His shop and atelier in the industrial quarter, Sidi Ghanem, employs 70, many of whom have family and friends in the more hard-hit areas of the country. “Marrakesh is the heart, and then the veins extend throughout to the mountains.”

Minucciani’s perspective captured the should-we, shouldn’t-we that so many travelers, including me, are feeling these days. Tourism is a huge economic driver across the globe, contributing 7.6% of global GDP in 2022. It’s a critical way that destinations can get back to normal after a crisis, whether that’s a natural disaster, terrorism, or political upheaval. But as a traveler, I also recognize that visiting a place that’s endured a traumatic event can get complicated, quickly. Are you a burden, physically and emotionally, to the local population? Will your dollars truly be welcome? And when exactly is the right time to go? 

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but experts in the travel industry I’ve spoken with tend to follow a few principles when deciding to go back to a place impacted by tragedy. It’s advice that I often follow myself — and that can make all of us better, more conscientious travelers. 

Tap into social media.

In the initial hours and days after the September earthquake, many journalists — not to mention businesses in Marrakesh and the Atlas Mountains — were documenting relief efforts in close to real time. La Mamounia, for example, posted to Instagram on Sept. 11, sharing that the hotel staff and their families were safe. (They also made a call for donations to support relief work.) Then, amazingly, things started to shift: on Sept. 13, there was a post depicting a dining table, saying, “We are ready to serve You!” accompanied by the hashtags #MarrackechKeepsShining #MarrakechNow #StrongMarrakech, among others. On Sept. 16, there was a post depicting female chefs and food displays to promote a weekend brunch, with similar hashtags including #MarrakeshNeedsYou and #StrongMorocco. Jarring? A little, but in the world of Instagram, messages and sentiment turn on a dime. The hotel was clearly telegraphing that it was open, one of the things that gave me confidence to make the journey. If you’re planning a trip, consider following accounts from hotels, restaurants, tourism boards, and local authorities to keep apprised of the situation on the ground. 

Yannick Tylle/Getty Images

Call on a travel advisor.

Many travelers are now building long-term relationships with travel specialists, who help them navigate complex trips, tough restaurant reservations, even last-minute concert tickets. Advisors have a global network and can give you real-time advice and assistance. They can also be critical when you’re headed to a recently impacted destination. 

“We like to call a host of different people in a destination to get their take,” says Jack Ezon, founder of luxury travel agency Embark Beyond and member of T+L’s Travel Advisory Board . “We will also reach out to a concierge, a specific tour guide, a tour company and sometimes even a restaurant maître d'hôtel. We literally ask them how they are doing, if they are ready, and what the place is actually like.”

Sometimes, travel advisors find themselves in the middle of the crisis. Take the case of Mark Lakin, founder of the Legacy Untold and another member of T+L’s advisory board , who happened to be in Marrakesh when the earthquake hit. “The media reports the news with many ideas in mind, and the tourism economy is almost never the first consideration,” Lakin told me recently. “I felt that the most important thing that I could do was to report the truth from the ground to travelers and the travel industry. After some clean up and three days of national mourning, Marrakesh looked and felt pretty normal,” adds Lakin, who is based in New York City. “Shops, cafes, and restaurants were welcoming travelers with open arms.”

Manage your own expectations.

In my experience, one of the key concerns for travelers is infrastructure: is a destination physically ready for me? “We speak to clients all the time about destinations in recovery,” says Ezon of Embark Beyond. Over the years, he has sent clients to storm-impacted destinations such as Puerto Rico, Los Cabos, and Turks & Caicos — and is now sending people to Maui, which is slowly getting back on its feet after the fire . He shared with me how key it was to set expectations with his travelers. “We speak to clients all the time about destinations in recovery. Most of the time we will suggest visiting, then hold our breath for the inevitable ‘Is it safe”? Isn’t it all destroyed?’ Once you put things into perspective and give them an honest expectation of what things will look like on arrival, clients often book.” 

I felt comfortable returning to Marrakesh because La Mamounia had already been open for several weeks. That said, I did arrive at the hotel with a different, more empathetic mindset, eyes a little wider. I was prepared to be more judicious in my requests of the staff, more attuned to my surroundings, more overt in my thanks and gratitude. The restaurants, spa, and on-site boutiques were all welcoming international guests — but the mood at times was hushed and reflective, given the circumstances. My stay proceeded as “normal” as normal could be during a difficult time.

Travel with sensitivity.

Even when a place is open to visitors, it's critical to understand the nuance of what traveling can really mean. Consider the perspective of Carmen Teresa Targa , the San Juan-based vice president of Condado Travel and another advisory board member. She endured Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico and had conflicting feelings in the aftermath. “When someone called me and asked if they should visit the island, of course I said yes,” said Targa, whose travel agency is a family-owned business. “Because their visit was going to bring in revenue. Their visit was going to help my neighbor purchase food, water, medicines, and fuel.”

At the same time, she was dealing with her own crisis. “Did I want them to come? No. I didn’t want to see any pictures on social media of people enjoying themselves on the beach, 20 minutes away from my house, while I prayed to all the generator gods to keep the machine working.”

So what’s a thoughtful traveler to do? “There will always be areas that recuperate faster than others: visit those,” suggests Targa. “Locals will always welcome visitors, especially if it’s a destination that relies on tourism, but you have to be mindful, respectful and show some empathy, especially if the destination has been through a traumatizing event.”

Carmen Teresa Targa, Condado Travel

Locals will always welcome visitors, especially if it’s a destination that relies on tourism, but you have to be mindful, respectful and show some empathy, especially if the destination has been through a traumatizing event.

I wanted to post about my trip to Marrakesh to show what was possible, what things people could do on the ground with a positive message. I decided to edit a Reel about my sidecar and motorcycle tour La Mamounia organized with Marrakesh Insiders, giving my followers a chance to see for themselves that the streets in and around the medina were clean. One thing I did not get to do: experience the Atlas Mountains, where critical relief efforts were underway, yet some properties, miraculously, were getting on their feet. At Sir Richard Branson’s Kasbah Tamadot , a retreat just one hour outside of Marrakesh, many in the community lost their homes and there was significant damage to the main building. The Berber Tents, however, were unharmed; to enable employment, the hotel kept (and is keeping) those tents open — with 20% of the proceeds going to the E ve Branson Foundation . There were also suggestions regarding supplies (warm clothes, craft kits for kids) and voluntourism activities (trash clean up, harvesting local fruits) for those willing to make the trip. Big picture: reach out to your hotel to see if voluntourism is an option, or at the very least, if there is a list of suggested organizations accepting donations.

As sad as it is to contemplate, it’s likely we’ll see another version of the “Do I stay home or go forth? When is the right time to return?” scenario play out in another destination this year. More than one. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact moment when things feel normal. But it is clear to me that tourism — if we define it as cross-cultural exchange, a listening tour with the best of intentions — can represent opportunity, hope, and survival, all at once.

Related Articles

Should you travel to Morocco after the earthquake?

Oct 3, 2023 • 4 min read

While parts of Morocco were heavily damaged by the earthquake, the country remains most open to visitors © Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images

As anyone who’s visited Morocco will tell you, it’s the local people who make any trip there truly memorable.

The hospitality and kindness you experience will stay with you long after you’ve returned home. But should you be planning on a trip to the beguiling country after the devastating earthquake in September 2023?

A devastating disaster

“Despite being in shock after the quake,” says Elsewhere Morocco expert Nawfal Serhir, “the people we met when we delivered aid to villages around Taroudant were as welcoming as ever. Even though many were homeless and grieving, they still greeted us warmly with a smile.”

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit just after 11pm on Friday, September 8, devastating remote villages in the High Atlas Mountains , killing more than 3000 people and injuring almost twice that number. Traditional homes built of rammed earth collapsed. Concrete buildings such as shops and schools cracked and fell apart at odd angles.

The government was quick to send in heavy machinery to clear the roads so that relief could reach the villagers. Where earthmovers couldn’t proceed, helicopters dropped doctors and firemen, while soldiers went in on foot accompanied by mules carrying supplies. Local and foreign-aid agencies have delivered food and warm clothing, and Moroccans from all over the country have sent aid packages. King Mohamed VI was one of thousands who gave blood; the monarch has announced major compensation for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

The quake was perplexingly choosy – razing one village yet sparing another in the next valley. People affected are now living in tents, their homes too dangerous to enter. The rebuilding program is already under way, though winter is around the corner and snow is imminent.

Some 60 miles north of the earthquake’s epicenter lies the country’s premier tourist destination,  Marrakesh . A few people lost their lives in the city, some buildings were damaged, part of the walls crumbled and the minaret of a mosque lay in ruins. Some of the historic buildings in this Unesco World Heritage site are now closed while they are checked for structural problems.

Where does all this leave potential visitors? Is it all doom and gloom? Would you feel guilty having a fun holiday while people are injured or homeless? Should you even think of coming now?

The answer is a resounding yes .

In fact, come soon – as your visit is crucial to the local relief effort. There’s no need to feel guilty or to cancel your trip. Your support is vital now and you will make a valuable contribution to the economy by underpinning local jobs.

Here’s what visitors to Morocco can expect after the earthquake

• All airports are operating as normal and transport services such as trains and buses are running as normal.
• Major roads, such as the N9 through the High Atlas between Ouarzazate and Marrakesh, are clear and have not been damaged.
• Some of the historic monuments in Marrakesh such as the weaving museum Dar Si Saïd , the new Museum of Intangible Heritage , the Musée des Confluences at Dar El Bacha , the Saadian Tombs , the Bahia Palace and the Badia Palace are temporarily closed.
• There are plenty of other monuments and sights to visit, such as the lovely Jardin Secret or the almost 20 museums in the medina. Fortunately, the magnificent, newly restored Ben Youssef Medersa is still open, the souks are as inviting as ever and the evening street-food carnival on Djemaa El Fna is just as much fun.
• In the Ville Nouvelle (new city), where there was no damage, the Jardin Majorelle , Yves Saint Laurent Museum , chic boutiques, art galleries and excellent restaurants await.
• If you’re going trekking or mountain biking in the High Atlas, routes are open and safe. Local guides will put your safety first and take you on secure routes. It’s the areas around the quake’s epicenter – the villages of Moulay Brahim, Amizmiz, Ijoukak and Talaat N’Yaaqoub – that you will avoid.

Explore places in Morocco far from the earthquake epicenter

The earth trembled across a country the size of Texas on that fateful Friday night, but fortunately there has been little damage beyond the High Atlas and Marrakesh. Don’t forget the wealth of fabulous places to visit in Morocco beyond red city of Marrakesh. Fez has an ancient medina with spectacular architecture, and Chefchaouen is soaked in that charming blue hue. You can catch a thrilling wave on the coast (especially in winter), ride a camel across Saharan dunes and discover the delights of Moroccan cuisine. And there are other hiking options, such as the cedar forests and gentle slopes of the Middle Atlas and the more northerly Rif Mountains .

Wherever you are, in a city riad or a rural lodge, the resilient Moroccan people will steal your heart with that welcoming smile and glass of frothy mint tea.

How you can help

People in the mountains need warm clothes, shoes and blankets for the rapidly approaching winter weather. Buy supplies locally, then pop into Café Clock in Marrakesh as it’s a collection point for donations of any kind.

If you’re going into the mountains, ask your guide if there’s anything you could take for the people there.

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Traveling to Morocco? What to know about earthquake’s impact.

Airlines are helping customers change flights, but tour operators are asking them not to cancel future trips.

Near midnight Friday, Morocco was rocked by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake, the strongest to hit the area in more than a century. As of Monday afternoon, the death toll from the natural disaster was more than 2,600 people, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.

The quake struck about 47 miles southwest of Marrakesh. The areas most affected were the villages in the High Atlas Mountains, where homes and lives were destroyed , but the earthquake was felt in Rabat, Fez and as far away as Casablanca, more than 180 miles from its epicenter.

Akim Elanbassi, the owner of Morocco Travel Agency , was staying at a boutique hotel in the Ourika Valley as part of a location scouting trip for his family’s business. He said he felt the entire building shake. Within minutes, the entire Berber village of Anrar was outside as people fled the explosion-like noises coming from their walls.

Elanbassi and his family — his wife, two children and mother-in-law — decided to flee the mountains and drive the 38 kilometers to Marrakesh, where they would sleep in the car.

“It was really loud … terrifying. Very terrifying. It’s like in the movies but it’s real, real stuff,” Elanbassi said. “It was crazy. But we were very lucky because maybe the area we were at did not get hit as hard as other areas .”

By Monday, official recovery and rescue efforts were underway as officials accepted assistance from countries including Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

Visiting Morocco after the earthquake showed this traveller the power of travel

When Craig heard the news that an earthquake had struck Morocco just a week before he was due to travel there, he questioned whether going ahead with his trip was the right thing to do.  

Craig Sharpe and his wife Sadie had always wanted to visit Morocco to see Marrakech and visit the Sahara especially. So back in January 2023, they put the wheels in motion and booked Intrepid’s 13-day Morocco Uncovered trip for mid-September.  

On the morning of September 9th, Craig woke up at home in Cornwall, England, to a message from a friend with a link to a news report of an overnight earthquake in Morocco. The 6.8-magnitude quake had damaged buildings in Marrakech and destroyed rural villages, killing nearly 3000 people.  

Craig flipped on the TV to learn more and was immediately struck with feelings of sadness for the people of Morocco , but he also felt a sense of uncertainty and unease. With his trip only a week away, would it go ahead? Should it? 

‘I reached out to a few Morocco travel Facebook groups to get some perspective on whether it was the right time to travel to a country that was experiencing such loss,’ he says. ‘The general consensus was that not travelling could be damaging to the economy and the livelihoods of the Moroccans that work in the tourism industry.’

Morocco has just faced a natural disaster – we don’t want to follow it with an economic disaster. If tourism dries up in Morocco, it will be catastrophic.

The team at Intrepid felt much the same way. After confirming that the more than 770 travellers, guides and staff on the ground were safe, Intrepid made the decision to cancel trips for four days. They worked to understand the scope of the quake’s damage, while also navigating a deep understanding of the vital role tourism plays in Morocco.  

As Intrepid leader Brahim Hanaoui told Adventure.com , ‘Morocco has just faced a natural disaster – we don’t want to follow it with an economic disaster. If tourism dries up in Morocco, it will be catastrophic.’

The impact of the earthquake was quite localised, with much of the damage in the High Atlas Region. The Intrepid team in Morocco rerouted trips where necessary and the majority resumed on September 13th.  

Craig and Sadie landed at the airport in Marrakech on the 17th and hopped onto a private transfer to Casablanca to start their trip. That evening, they met their leader Balmekki (Mekki for short) and their fellow travellers who hailed from the United States and Australia.  

Mekki explained that the only modification to their itinerary would be a change to their accommodation in Marrakech at the end of the trip. Because the riad originally booked was in an area of the city’s medina that had experienced some damage, the group was moved to a hotel outside the medina while the riad was being assessed.  

From Casablanca, they travelled through Meknes, Chefchauouen, Fes and into the Sahara. Along the way, they witnessed how daily life was moving forward. In Chefchauouen, Mekki led the group through the blue-washed medina before Craig and Sadie capped their evening watching the sunset from their hotel balcony as a call to prayer rang out. In the Sahara, the group travelled by camel to a campsite where they slept under the stars. ‘It’s these experiences that make me want to travel,’ Craig reflects.  

Everywhere they went, the group’s trip leader made all the difference. ‘Mekki was everything you want from a leader – patient, passionate and funny. He was able to adapt the tour to add in extra experiences through personal contacts of his,’ Craig explains.  

‘As Mekki was originally from a nomadic family, we got an opportunity to visit a nomadic woman who showed us around her home in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Mekki was even happy to share personal stories about his life.’ Craig adds that at a time when we need to understand and connect with the people of Morocco, these experiences were invaluable.  

Craig says he didn’t see the impact of the earthquake until they travelled across the Atlas Mountains past damaged villages and displaced residents living in temporary tents. This is the area where two partners of The Intrepid Foundation are working to provide relief, funded in part by the generous donations of Intrepid travellers.  

Within 12 hours of the foundation launching an appeal for funds to support these groups, donors had contributed over $100,000 AUD, which Intrepid matched dollar-for-dollar. At the time of publication, that total had surpassed half a million dollars, much of it coming from past travellers to the country whose own experiences there, similar to Craig’s, compelled them to contribute. All of these funds are being directed to Education for All and the High Atlas Foundation , non-profits providing food, shelter, water, communications and medical support to affected communities. 

As Craig’s trip drew to a close in Marrakech, he says that while the impact of the earthquake could be felt, the city still buzzed. ‘Djemaa el-Fnaa came alive in the evening,’ he recalls of the medina’s main square. 

In the end, did he feel it was right to go ahead with his trip? 

‘Our decision to travel to Morocco was absolutely the right one,’ he says. ‘Everyone was welcoming and happy to share their country with us.’

Thousands of Moroccans rely on tourism to make a living, and by not visiting Morocco, these are the people that will suffer. Please go. Enjoy everything Morocco has to offer: stunning landscapes, amazing architecture, delicious food and genuinely welcoming people.’

Craig travelled on Intrepid’s 13-day Morocco Uncovered trip, one of over 30 trips in Morocco . To learn more about itinerary adjustments in Morocco, view our Travel Alerts . The Intrepid Foundation continues to raise funds to support the relief efforts of their partners on the ground. If you can, donate now .  

Feeling inspired?

Heather Kang

Heather Kang is Intrepid's global content manager and lives in the forest in Canada with her husband, two kids and two cats. She has visited over 35 countries but still likes Canada the most.

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Nightly news, tourists in morocco share experiences after devastating earthquake.

Tourists in Morocco are sharing their experiences after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the region. Many families are still left waiting for word about their loved ones. NBC News’ Maggie Vespa reports. Sept. 9, 2023

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Morocco’s Resilience: Intrepid Travel Helps Tourism Rebound After Earthquake

Dawit Habtemariam , Skift

March 1st, 2024 at 10:21 AM EST

Intrepid Travel used its resources to bring tourism back to the High Atlas communities devastated by the September 8 earthquake.

Dawit Habtemariam

Intrepid Travel has been driving tourism back to Moroccan villages impacted by the September earthquake.

It’s been over six months since a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Marrakech and communities in the Atlas Mountains region. The natural disaster left over 2,900 dead, 5,500 injured and many homes, roads and buildings destroyed.

Since the earthquake, Intrepid has been doing its part to help these communities fully recover. After the earthquake struck, Intrepid Travel’s philanthropic arm, the Intrepid Foundation, quickly raised $550,000, plus $100,000 from its own funds. 

“It was the biggest appeal we’ve ever had in 35 years of history,” said Zina Bencheikh, managing director of the Middle East, Europe, and Africa for Intrepid Travel.

Intrepid worked with two partners to provide emergency services to get the communities back on their feet. Education for All built boarding house schools for girls who lost theirs to the earthquake. Its other partner, the High Atlas Foundation, brought shelter, food, and aid to the survivors. 

“When the earthquake hit Morocco, really for our business, we were hit in the middle of our core, where we operate,” said Bencheikh. “In fact, rural areas are really the core of our operations in Morocco. Specifically, all our tours go to rural areas.”

Intrepid Travel’s Deep Roots in Morocco

Intrepid, which recently hosted Skift in Morocco at it its annual company retreat, takes travelers off the beaten path with a community-based approach to tourism. To ensure this, the global organization partners with small, independent businesses to make sure income reaches the grassroots level of a destination, said Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton at the Skift Global Forum in September.

Over 90% of Intrepid’s guides directly come from Morocco’s rural areas. 

In Morocco, Intrepid takes travelers out of touristy areas. It partners with families, locals, and small businesses to give travelers authentic Moroccan experiences, said Mohamed El Bahri, an Intrepid tour guide.

On some tours, tourists watch and partake in breadmaking, stay in guest houses, hike the Agafay desert and Atlas Mountains, and have dinner with locals. 

“To know Moroccans, you have to go to their heart. What is their heart? It’s their house,” said El Bahri.

Tourism: a Vital Sector for Morocco

During the week of the September 8 earthquake, flight bookings for Morocco dropped 35%, according to ForwardKeys. Bookings remained 22% down for the three weeks after the earthquake. 

Tourism has become a major industry of Morocco’s economy, having taken up a bigger share of employment, said Siham Fettouhi, Morocco Tourism Office Director for USA and Canada, in October.

Tourism was 16% of Morocco’s total exports in 2022, according to UN Tourism . As a share of just service exports, it made up 45%.

Sending a Recovery Message

To help its communities, Intrepid leveraged its brand name, size and resources to convey that Morocco is still open to tourism.

One of the dangers of a natural disaster for a destination is that tourists can mistakenly assume the whole destination has been hit – that they should not visit out of respect for the impacted communities or because certain attractions are closed.

Intrepid did a PR campaign on behalf of Morocco.

Intrepid restarted tours to some of the impacted areas once their roads were open again. On December 1, Intrepid returned to the village of Imlil, which had been disconnected due to damaged roads. 

“It was quite fast because we really needed to send a strong message and make sure that our communities don’t get a double impact from this devastating earthquake,” said Bencheikh.

The fact that Marrakech’s major international events continued as scheduled also sent a strong message. In October, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund held their annual meeting in Marrakech. Over 14,000 attendees attended the meeting.

In the first 11 months of 2023, Morocco welcomed 13.2 million tourists, beating its 2019 level of 12.9 million, reported Morocco World News .

Atlas Communities Continue to Rebuild

While tourism continues to flow back to many of the impacted villages, many survivors are still healing. Not wanting to leave their communities, some are staying in tents waiting for their new homes to be built. 

The Daily Newsletter

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Tags: intrepid travel , morocco

Photo credit: A view of the Atlas Mountains from the village of View from the village of Imlil in Morocco in February 2024. Photo by Sean O'Neill. Source: Skift. Sean O'Neill

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Maps: Where the Earthquake Struck Morocco

By Lauren Leatherby ,  Marco Hernandez ,  Scott Reinhard ,  Elena Shao ,  Karen Yourish and Christine Zhang Updated Sunday, Sept. 10

An earthquake, which had a magnitude of at least 6.8, struck Morocco on Friday, devastating a region where many vulnerable buildings were unable to withstand the shaking. Official estimates of the death toll grew into the thousands on Sunday.

Shake intensity

Very strong

High Atlas Mountains

Atlantic Ocean

Detail area

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey (earthquake intensity reported as of Sept. 10 at 4 p.m. in Morocco); WorldPop (population data)

The New York Times

Rubble filled some alleyways in Marrakesh, one of Morocco’s largest cities, but the highest death tolls so far have been reported in the small communities of the High Atlas mountains. Mud brick buildings common to the region — some of which date back to before Morocco’s colonization by the French — were reduced to a collapsed sand castle .

Talat N’yaaqoub, Morocco

Dec. 28, 2022

Sept. 10, 2023

N’Yaaqoub

Sources: Maxar Technologies, Google Maps

Reports on social media said that some villages had yet to receive any assistance more than a day after the earthquake.

Shake intensity near the epicenter

Built-up areas

There were multiple reports of damage in the historic old city in Marrakesh .

Rescue workers dug through wreckage searching for survivors

in Amizmiz.

M’Zouda

Moulay Brahim

A mosque and other buildings were damaged in the village of Moulay Brahim.

Imintanoute

Fifteen people were killed on Friday in Azgour, a village

A 12th-century mosque was severely damaged in Tinmal.

Rescue workers dug through wreckage searching for survivors in Amizmiz.

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey (earthquake intensity reported as of Sept. 10 at 4 p.m. in Morocco); GHSL - Global Human Settlement Layer, European Space Agency.

Some roads appeared to be blocked by landslides and phone service had been knocked out in many places, making rescues harder.

Imgdal, Morocco

Source: Maxar Technologies

As of Sunday, the largest number of victims accounted for so far are in the Al Haouz province, a mountainous region of small hillside towns south of Marrakesh, and Taroudant, south of the epicenter. Many of the areas affected by the quake are remote mountain villages that are not easily accessed by emergency teams.

Regions with highest death tolls

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey (epicenter); WorldPop (population data)

Note: Includes areas that have reported more than 10 deaths as of Sept. 10 at 6:00 p.m. in Morocco.

The quake was the strongest to hit the area in more than a century. The U.S. Geological Survey called serious earthquakes in Morocco “uncommon but not unexpected.”

The most deadly earthquake in Morocco’s recent history struck near Agadir in 1960, killing at least 12,000 people. The coastal city is located 80 miles southwest of the epicenter of Friday’s quake.

Major earthquakes since 1900

More than 600 people died

when a 6.4-magnitude

earthquake struck

6.8 magnitude

At least 12,000 people died

in a 5.9-magnitude earthquake

near Agadir in 1960. It was

Morocco’s deadliest in recent history.

earthquake struck in 2004.

in a 5.9-magniture earthquake

Source: U.S. Geological Survey

Note: Includes earthquakes since 1900 that have a magnitude of at least 4.5 according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

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After Morocco’s devastating earthquake, the tourism industry rallies round

Travel and tour operators are getting involved in the country’s relief effort, knowing how vital tourism is to its economy

“My family is safe,” our tour guide Sara Chakir said as we huddled in the streets outside Fez’s medina, waiting for aftershocks until the early hours. Morocco’s 6.8 magnitude earthquake had struck last Friday, 350 miles away in the Al Haouz region of the High Atlas mountains at just after 11pm. It was enough to send our riad swaying, but there was no apparent damage to people or place. It was only in the morning that the scale of destruction elsewhere was clear. Another tour guide, Hossain ait Mhand, said: “My family is fine, but others in their town are not so lucky – homes have been flattened.”

I was on my way to a conference in Marrakech, about 40 miles north of where the earthquake was centred, but detoured home. Those already in the city saw blood bank queues snaking around the streets after a government call out. Marrakech’s medina experienced damage, and 50 people were reported to have died there. Tourists trickled out of the city.

Three days later, the death toll was almost 3,000, and with more than 5,000 people injured. Some of Morocco’s most remote communities were the hardest hit, making recovery efforts difficult. Some villages are still waiting for relief; in others, rescuers have little hope – ancient clay buildings have crumbled entirely. The village of Tafeghaghte, for example, has lost 90 of its 400 residents.

Though the Al Haouz region is a popular hiking destination edging into peak season, tourists have been relatively unharmed.

Chris McHugo, co-owner of the community-run hotel Kasbah du Toubkal, said: “Here in Imlil, the damage is less than in other places. It’s partly because tourism has funded building work here, meaning the village is more structurally sound than others. The old part of our kasbah is damaged, but the rooms were unharmed.”

Others have not been as fortunate. In the quiet village of Agnie, a beautiful, locally owned lodge I visited last year, Chez Momo II, has been badly damaged.

Just down the road in Asni, Education For All , a charity providing boarding and support so that girls from the region’s most remote communities can go to school, has been devastated by the earthquake. Its chief executive, Sonia Omar, has said it will have to rebuild at least five of the six boarding houses.

“Our immediate need is confirming our girls’ safety and cooperating with aid agencies to get food, water, blankets, torches and medical supplies where they are most needed,” she said. There are still 55 girls unaccounted for. The charity has started emergency fundraising focused on long-term repair.

Morocco had a record-breaking 2.9 million international visitors in the first quarter of 2023, and the travel industry has been quick to rally support. The Intrepid Foundation , run by the adventure travel company Intrepid Travel – which takes groups to destinations around the country – is fundraising for its two NGO partners on the ground: Education For All for long-term relief and the High Atlas Foundation for immediate relief. The latter usually runs sustainable infrastructure projects, so it is well placed to redeploy services. So far, Intrepid has raised AUS$340,582 (£176,620) after fund matching the first AUS$100,000.

Much Better Adventures is donating 5% of its September revenue to the High Atlas Foundation. Exodus Adventure Travels has launched fundraising for React disaster response , and Global Giving‘s Morocco Earthquake Relief Fund is supporting immediate needs. This week The Conscious Travel Foundation rallied industry support at a fundraiser in London, where they raised £10,000 and discussed how best to respond to these kinds of disasters.

For those travelling to Morocco imminently, the Foreign Office advice is to check with travel companies and tour operators before departing, though the industry’s overall message is one of still encouraging people to travel.

Intrepid has adapted itineraries that involve the Atlas mountains region, and other tour operators are doing the same. The message from tour guides, NGOs, and travel businesses is increasingly clear: continuing to travel responsibly is an important part of support.

“Our message is strong,” said Gail Leonard from the local operator Plan-it Morocco. “Your tourism dollar is critical to the ongoing relief effort here in Morocco.” Jarrod Kyte, the product and sustainability director at Steppes Travel, who was in the mountains during the earthquake, agrees. Steppes’ partner at Hotel Dar Ahlam in Skoura told me: “Beyond the aid that is being provided, tourist arrivals constitute a message of hope and support that is just as necessary and vital for Morocco.”

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