Rise from the rubble: Locals in mourning help Morocco as earthquake claims 2,800+ lives
SACRAMENTO -- At least 2,862 people are dead and thousands more injured in Morocco after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake devastated parts of Marrakech and communities south of the major city on Friday.
The earthquake was a magnitude 6.8, which is rare for western Morocco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Twenty minutes after the main earthquake, a magnitude 4.9 aftershock hit the region.
Frantic efforts to find those buried in the rubble are still ongoing as the death toll is expected to climb.
Mourning for Morocco
Locals in the Sacramento area are mourning their loved ones who died in the earthquake, including an Elk Grove family with heavy hearts on Monday.
Lahoucine Lhamous moved to the United States nearly 30 years ago, but his entire extended family remains in his home country of Morocco, most living at the base of the hard-hit High Atlas Mountains and higher up in small, mountain villages.
"There's some villages nearby that disappeared," said Lhamous. "They are gone forever."
He lost five family members and even more friends in the earthquake.
"You have to live another day. It's not easy," said Lhamous, a 15-year Elk Grove resident.
He and his wife Lysa Munson visit his family in Morocco every year and are heartbroken to see the images coming out of the country.
"That culture and these people have been there for thousands of years. There's a lot of forces working against them and preserving that way of life. We don't want this earthquake to be the death knell to that," said Munson.
"I'm afraid it will be," added Lhamous.
Their surviving family members are on the ground in the High Atlas Mountains getting resources to remote villages.
"They're hard to get to. So they don't usually get the attention," said Munson.
Munson and Lhamous are now rallying their community to help their friends and family keep their efforts going.
The couple has already raised nearly 7,000 dollars in a GoFundMe online as of Monday night to get resources right to those communities.
"They're just incredibly generous people. They deserve some generosity when they are in need," said Munson.
Rising from the rubble
Many international agencies have boots on the ground in Morocco tackling today's crisis and what could lie ahead.
"This is a 6.8 magnitude. Aftershocks could be bigger than the first one and cause more damage, too," said Dr. Kit Miyamoto, structural engineer.
He is the CEO of Miyamoto International, a global company that is headquartered in West Sacramento, CA.
The company is comprised of teams of expert structural engineers who are dispatched to disaster.
Now, with a mission in Morocco.
"How to repair back better so they can go back to their houses quickly. That is going to be the main focus of our mission," said Miyamoto. "Not only the immediate response but the recovery and the reconstruction phase."
He himself will fly to the African country by Saturday to help lead his on-the-ground teams.
Miyamoto says officials estimate around 400,000 people are left homeless due to the quakes damaging or collapsing their homes.
The task ahead will take years, but it is one he and his team take on proudly.
Miyamoto Relief accepts donations to keep their non-profit engineering work going.
Hope for back home
The fear for so many Moroccans is that the country's rich culture will be lost in the rubble.
"Anything that would help them rebuild their communities is going to be a great thing," said Khalid Ouadrhiri.
He and his cousin Hicham Zemama run Casablanca Moroccan Restaurant in Sacramento.
Zemama even learned Monday of more close friends adding to the growing death toll. He had called his best friend from college daily -- only to receive horrible news from the man's mother.
"He died with his family. Twin daughters and his older daughter was 15," said Zemama.
They're mobilizing now, brainstorming ways they can bring the Sacramento community together to send donations to their home country.
"Sacramento already is giving," said Ouadrhiri.
They've been encouraged by how many community members have come by the restaurant asking how they can help.
"These people that get the brunt of it are poor people. They are literally isolated from the big cities," said Ouadrhiri.
Their hope is that the Moroccan spirit won't be wiped off the map.
California response
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services confirmed to CBS13 Monday it remains ready to send crews to help in Morocco.
"California remains on standby but has not received a formal request from the State Department and USAID who are in direct contact with Moroccan officials," said an agency spokesperson.
On a federal level, the State Department issued this statement on Saturday:
"On behalf of the people of the United States, I express my deep sadness at the loss of life and destruction caused by yesterday's earthquake in Morocco and extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of those affected. The United States is ready to provide any necessary assistance as Morocco responds to this tragedy. Our thoughts are with the Moroccan people, and we offer our unwavering support and solidarity to our Moroccan partners at this tragic time."