Al Haouz Earthquake: Reopening of Road to Ighil, Tremor's Epicenter, Facilitates Aid Delivery

13 September 2023 Printable Version

Ighil (Al Haouz Province) - The tireless efforts made by the various authorities since the Al Haouz earthquake have borne fruit, with the reopening of the road leading to Ighil, the area worst hit by this natural disaster, facilitating the delivery of aid to the stricken population.

The road to Ighil is crucial for transporting various forms of aid to the affected populations, initially by air, using Royal Armed Forces (FAR) helicopters due to the area's inaccessibility by land.

In the early hours following the earthquake, significant human and logistical resources were mobilized in the province of Al Haouz to reopen to traffic all the sections of road that had been closed due to landslides and rockfalls in this difficult-to-access mountainous area, which severely hampered the arrival of aid and rescue teams to the areas affected by the earthquake, particularly the Ighil region.

The Provincial Director of Equipment, Transport and Logistics, Hicham Frindi, told MAP that the commune of Ighil and the surrounding villages are now accessible and opened up.

The provincial director added that the heavy traffic on this road constituted "a major obstacle" to the intervention teams, calling on road users to be vigilant and cautious, and to use this road only in emergencies, to enable the intervention teams to carry out their mission in the best possible conditions.

To this end, he said, the Ministry had mobilized some 60 machines in the Al Haouz province, as well as considerable human resources, including managers, technicians and machine drivers. A program had also been drawn up in coordination with the provincial authorities to intervene on the rural tracks belonging to the communes, and the necessary machines mobilized.

Frindi explained that the work carried out by the Ministry's teams had enabled the reopening of the No.7 national road linking Tahanaout to Taroudant, as well as the Provincial Road (PR) 2036 on the Azekour-Anemerou (8 km) and RP 2007-Ighil (8 km) sections.

He noted that PR 2017 between Marrakech and Oukaimden had been reopened over 15 km, PR 2030 between Aghbalou and Oukaimden over 30 km, PR 2015 between Asni and Imlil over 15 km, PR 2009 between Amezmiz and Adassil over 37 km, and PR 2024 between Moulay Brahim and Asni over 4 km.

Frindi confirmed that intervention teams were continuing to clear rocks from the roads, stressing that efforts were also continuing to reopen all roads to ensure the safety of users.