AL HOCEIMA, Morocco, 29 February 2004 — King Mohammed VI was due yesterday to begin his twice-postponed visit to mountainous northeastern Morocco to comfort survivors of the powerful quake that killed more than 570 people.
A series of aftershocks following the original quake, which measured 6.3 on the open-ended Richter scale, prevented the monarch from coming earlier to the remote Rif mountains that line the region’s Mediterranean coast.
The official Moroccan news agency, MAP, reported that rescuers had found one more body in a remote village, taking the death toll to 572.
Minister of Communications and government spokesman Nabil Benabdala, who briefed journalists on the king’s likely schedule and who, as he spoke, was unaware of the latest body’s discovery, said eight more injured people had been found since Thursday, taking the official injured toll to 413.
The minister insisted the Moroccan government had done everything in its power to distribute the aid as quickly and efficiently as possible but admitted there had been hitches.
“In terms of food we basically have what we need. But there is a shortage of the right kind of tents. People are very conservative here and local traditions prevent the use of communal bivouacs.
“A father will want to be in a family tent with his wife and sons and daughters, no one else.”
Pressed on the king’s schedule, with the monarch scheduled to arrive around 1:30 pm (1330 GMT), Benabdala said he could not give exact details.
“His majesty will arrive in the early afternoon and visit a number of sites as he decides the situation warrant.
“He will stay for several days and visit practically all the sites hit by this catastrophe,” Benabdala said.
Officials have all along been wary of sending the king to the area amid fears for his safety.
But with international aid having reached most mountain villages, soothing popular protests which briefly bogged down the distribution operation, the king’s entourage said he would arrive by road from Tangiers in the early to mid-afternoon.
Al Hoceima offered up a huge contrast yesterday to its usual picturesque seaside setting against the starkly beautiful backdrop of the mountains.
In the background, below the local prefecture where government officials were planning the minutiae of the king’s visit, the sea glistened in the sunshine.
But in the foothills of the mountains, displaced residents could be seen trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives in bright yellow tents supplied by the government, green army tents and other khaki-colored versions.
Overnight, more aid arrived at Al Hoceima airport in the form of Japanese blankets and generators as rescue teams from dozens of nations prepared to execute the next wave of aid distribution.
There was no sign of the protests which had marked the previous two days as relief supplies appeared to have penetrated almost all the region affected, but there was one report of looting of an aid truck near the airport before dawn. Security forces have said the situation was under control.
With the imminent arrival of the monarch and head of government, there were clear signs that slowly normality was finally beginning to return to an area also scarred by a less serious quake 10 years ago, which killed six people.
The region is wary of contact with Rabat which it believes does not do enough to develop the area where there is no industry and no university.
The king’s visit was being seen as highly symbolic five years after he succeeded his father Hassan II, who was widely seen as not showing enough concern for the tough lives of the Rif people.
