RABAT: Morocco’s earthquake damaged 2,930 villages in the High Atlas mountains with a total population of 2.8 million people, the minister in charge of the budget said on Friday (Sep 22).
The 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on Sept. 8 killed more than 2,900 people, most of them in hard-to-reach mountainous areas.
At least 59,674 houses were damaged, of which 32 per cent have totally collapsed, the minister, Faouzi Lekjaa, said in a presentation at parliament.
The government would offer 2,500 dirhams (US$244) monthly over a year in aid to quake-stricken households, in addition to 140,000 dirhams compensation paid for totally destroyed homes and 80,000 for partially damaged ones, he said.
Reconstruction should respect the original architectural character of the High Atlas mountains, Lekjaa said.
Source: CNA
