Moroccans in London heartbroken as families struggle in aftermath of deadly earthquake

Londoner Isam Faik had no idea that two days after he returned home from Morocco, a devastating earthquake would strike his parents' village that he was visiting in the Atlas Mountains.

"It was a big scare for me when I knew the level of the earthquake. The first thing I did was try to call everyone I knew to make sure if they were okay," he said. 

Although Faik's family members are physically safe after surviving the powerful and rare 6.8-magnitude quake that hit the North African country on Friday, many of them are displaced without a home. 

"People are spending nights on the streets because their houses are built with materials that once they crack, the risk of them falling is quite high so they're trying to find alternatives to shelter themselves," he said. "It's a big psychological effect on people."

As of Sunday, the death toll has surpassed 2,100, making it Morocco's deadliest earthquake in more than six decades. Damage has been especially intense around the quake's epicentre in the Al Haouz province, about 70 kilometres south of Marrakech.

Faik, who came back to London on Wednesday, says the rugged and remote landscape of the mountains is proving to be a challenge in rescuing and getting aid to survivors.

"The roads have been damaged because of the earthquake, lots of rocks fell on the road so just getting to people to provide them help is complicated and a risky operation," he said. 

"There are some helicopters that tried to get to the area but even manoeuvring with them won't be easy because the villages are very scattered so getting to all of them will be hard."

He said the army has been deployed to remove obstacles from existing roads to help rescuers reach the hardest-hit villages in the High Atlas as the death toll is expected to rise, adding that some villages have been completely wiped out.

News of the earthquake was especially shocking for Abdallah Haida whose wife and two young kids are currently in Morocco. Despite them being safe in Casablanca, more than 200 kilometres away from Marrakech, Haida said they also felt the aftershocks of the quake. 

"I have many friends in the villages who have lost family members and it's very painful," said Haida who is vice-president of the Moroccan Association of London Ontario.

Many historic sites in Marrakech, including the famous Koutoubia Mosque, built in the 12th century, have sustained damage. Watching the destruction of the buildings he grew up around has been difficult for Haida. 

"It's really heartbreaking and hard for everybody to see people suffering and seeing our history destroyed," he said. "We're doing our best here, it's really hard being so far away."

In London, the local Moroccan community has been gathering over the weekend to pray for the victims of the natural disaster and collectively discussing ways to help their loved ones back home, said Faik.