Fundraiser for Moroccan and Libyan natural disaster relief held in London Friday

A fundraiser aimed at disaster relief for those affected by the recent earthquake in Morocco and flooding in Libya will take place in downtown London on Friday evening.

The fundraiser is one of many being organized across Canada by Islamic Relief Canada, with the goal of raising awareness and providing support to those affected, while collecting funds to help those directly impacted.

The event is taking place at the DoubleTree at 300 King Street, starting at 6:30 p.m.

"Our teams on the ground have reported heartbreaking scenes, with entire villages in ruins and people rummaging through rubble with their bare hands, desperately searching for their loved ones," said Saimah Sarwar, a fundraising specialist with Islamic Relief Canada. "We are actively assisting affected communities on the ground, and hope this event will help spread awareness on the situation and help those who are in urgent need."

In Morocco, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake — the strongest recorded in the country in over a century — claimed more than 2,800 lives as the death toll continues to rise. The United Nations estimates 300,000 people were affected by the earthquake, which struck on the night of Sept. 8 near Marrakesh.

Days later in Libya, torrential floods were released on the coastal city of Derna when a powerful storm burst dams on Sunday night. Water hurtled down a seasonal riverbed that bisects the city, washing multi-storey buildings into the sea with sleeping families inside.

On top of thousands of deaths, the toll of these disasters has ranged from food and water shortages, to the inability to travel in affected areas, to an even higher number of people missing.

"They don't have drinking water, they don't have [plumbing], there are dead bodies in the streets. They don't have transportation. They can't reach other cities," said Emad Abraik, a London man who is from Derna, and has family there still.

"My dad and mom, they are OK and my sister is also okay, but each one has a very close friend who died. I lost a lot of friends, a lot of colleagues, a lot of my family members."

Libyans affected by the disaster were shocked and caught off guard, as Libya is not an area prone to natural disasters, Abraik said.

Friday's fundraiser in London is a sold out event that has a $40 a plate dinner, guest speakers from the charity and the Libyan community and a silent auction.

Sarwar said they just finished a similar fundraiser Thursday in Windsor and raised over $100,000 toward relief efforts.

"We urge our fellow Canadians to donate and help during this desperate time for these people," she said.