Soccer Football – World Cup – Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay – October 4, 2023 General view inside Estadio Centenario after it was announced that it will host the opening matches of the Morocco, Portugal and Spain World Cup in 2030 to mark the tournament’s centenary hosted for the first time in the stadium in 1930…. Acquire Licensing Rights
A day after Morocco and Spain were nominated as joint hosts of the 2030 World Cup – along with Portugal – there were signs of friction, with both countries laying claim to being the venue for the final.
Spain’s Sports Minister Miquel Iceta on Thursday on Onda Cero radio said that although “you can’t count your chickens before they hatch”, he expected the final to be held in Spain.
But Fouzi Lekjaa, head of Morocco’s football federation, said that the goal was for the final to be in Casablanca.
He hoped to see the country’s efforts “crowned – god willing – with celebrations in Casablanca stadium at a historic final,” he said on Radio Mars.
In a surprise announcement a year earlier than planned, FIFA allocated the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, Spain and Portugal on Wednesday and said Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host three matches to mark the tournament’s centenary.
Argentina also weighed in, with government officials and the local football federation on Thursday saying the country would “go for more” games than the single opening match it has been allocated.
Relations between Spain and Morocco have for decades been marked by disputes over migration and territory.
There have been regular diplomatic crises over Spain’s enclaves in Africa and the arrival of thousands of illegal migrants in Spain each year through Morocco.
Ties improved last year after Madrid moved closer to Morocco’s policy on Western Sahara, a disputed territory that Rabat claims as its own but where the Algeria-backed Polisario Front is seeking independence.
Videos circulating on social media appear to show bright flashes of light streaking across the sky prior to the seismic event, believed to be a mysterious aerial phenomenon known as “earthquake lights.”
This is an AI generated image of Earthquake Lights. (Photo: India Today/Rahul Gupta)
A devastating 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the High Atlas Mountains in Eastern Morocco last Friday, resulting in the death of at least 2,900 people and injuring approximately 5,500 others. However, an intriguing phenomenon that occurred before the quake has caught the attention of scientists and the public alike.
Videos circulating on social media appear to show bright flashes of light streaking across the sky prior to the seismic event, believed to be a mysterious aerial phenomenon known as “earthquake lights.”
The existence and cause of earthquake lights remain a subject of debate among scientists. These lights, if proven to be associated with seismic activity, could potentially aid in early detection efforts.
Historical records dating back centuries mention instances of light bursts linked to earthquakes, ranging from brief flashes to minute-long fireballs, appearing in various colors either high or low in the sky.
What are earthquake lights?
The United States Geological Survey calls earthquake lights sheet lightning, balls of light, streamers, and steady glow that are reported in connection to the earthquake. However, there is no solid proof to explain the mysterious phenomenon. Researchers have also maintained that earthquake lights appear before or during earthquakes, but rarely after.
According to USGS, geophysicists differ on the extent to which they think that individual reports of unusual lighting near the time and epicenter of an earthquake actually represent EQL: some doubt that any of the reports constitute solid evidence for EQL, whereas others think that at least some reports plausibly correspond to EQL.
This picture taken on September 12, 2023 shows a view of affected buildings in the earthquake-hit village of Sidi Hassaine in al-Haouz province in the High Atlas mountains of central Morocco. (Photo: AFP)
Can’t be predicted
Due to the unpredictability of earthquakes, it is impossible to conduct a study to document these events firsthand, leaving scientists to rely on often unreliable human memories. However, the advent of security cameras and handheld phones has led to an increase in footage supporting the occurrence of these lights.
According to a report in Business Insider, geophysicist Friedemann Freund of the SETI Institute, who reviewed 65 reports of potential “earthquake lights”, suggests that these lights could be a complex form of static electricity. He theorises that the friction created when tectonic plates rub together could generate enough current to produce an electric discharge, explaining the bright flash.
Survivors of Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than six decades struggled to find food, water and shelter on Sunday as the search for the missing continued in remote villages and the death toll of more than 2,100 seemed likely to rise further.
Many people were spending a third night in the open after the 6.8 magnitude quake hit late on Friday. Relief workers face the challenge of reaching the worst-affected villages in the High Atlas, a rugged mountain range where settlements are often remote and where many houses crumbled.
The death toll climbed to 2,122 with 2,421 people injured, state TV reported. Morocco said it may accept relief offers from other countries and will work to coordinate them if needed, according to state TV.
The damage done to Morocco’s cultural heritage became more evident as local media reported the collapse of a historically important 12th century mosque. The quake also damaged parts of Marrakech old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In Moulay Brahim, a village 40 km (25 miles) south of Marrakech, residents described how they dug the dead from the rubble using their bare hands. On a hillside overlooking the village, residents buried a 45-year-old woman who had died along with her 18-year-old son, a woman sobbing loudly as the body was lowered into the grave.
As he retrieved possessions from his damaged home, Hussein Adnaie said he believed people were still buried in the rubble nearby.
“They didn’t get the rescue they needed so they died. I rescued my children and I’m trying to get covers for them and anything to wear from the house,” Adnaie said.
Yassin Noumghar, 36, complained of shortages of water, food and power, saying he had received little government aid so far.
“We lost everything, we lost the entire house,” Noumghar said. “We want just for our government to help us.”
Later, sacks of food were unloaded from a truck which local official Mouhamad al-Hayyan said had been organised by the government and civil society organisations.
Twenty-five bodies had been brought to the village’s small clinic, according to staff.
With many homes built of mud bricks and timber or cement and breeze blocks, structures crumbled easily. It was Morocco’s deadliest earthquake since 1960 when a quake was estimated to have killed at least 12,000 people.
In the badly hit village of Amizmiz, residents watched as rescuers used a mechanical digger on a collapsed house.
“They are looking for a man and his son. One of them might still be alive,” said Hassan Halouch, a retired builder.
The team eventually recovered only bodies.
The army, mobilised to help the rescue effort, set up a camp with tents for the homeless. With most shops damaged or closed, residents struggled to get food and supplies.
Emergency crews work, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Amizmiz, Morocco, September 10, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
“We’re still waiting for tents. We haven’t had anything yet,” said Mohammed Nejjar, a labourer who was folding his blanket in a makeshift shelter constructed with bits of wood. “I had a little food offered by one man but that’s all since the earthquake. You can’t see a single shop open here and people are frightened to go inside in case the roof falls down.”
The quake’s epicentre was 72 km (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech, a city beloved by Moroccans and foreign tourists for its medieval mosques, palaces and seminaries richly adorned with vivid mosaic tiling amid a labyrinth of rose-hued alleyways.
The government said on Sunday it has set up a fund for those affected by the earthquake. The government has also said it is reinforcing search-and-rescue teams, providing drinking water and distributing food, tents and blankets. The World Health Organization said more than 300,000 people have been affected by the disaster.
FOREIGN AID
Spain said 56 officers and four sniffer dogs have arrived in Morocco, while a second team of 30 people and four dogs was heading there. Britain said it was deploying 60 search-and-rescue specialists and four dogs on Sunday, as well as a four-person medical assessment team. Qatar also said its search-and-rescue team departed for Morocco.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his “sadness about the loss of life and devastation” caused by the quake.
“We stand ready to provide any necessary assistance to the Moroccan people,” Biden told a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.
A U.S. official said a small team of disaster experts dispatched by the United States arrived in Morocco on Sunday to assess the situation.
France said it stood ready to help and was awaiting a formal request from Morocco.
Other countries offering assistance included Turkey, where earthquakes in February killed more than 50,000 people. By Sunday, the Turkish team had not yet departed.
“The next two to three days will be critical for finding people trapped under the rubble,” Caroline Holt, global director of operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told Reuters.
The earthquake struck late on Friday – damaging homes in major cities and sending panicked people pouring into the streets. Reports suggest some buildings in Marrakech have collapsed.
At least 296 people have been killed following a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco, officials have said.
Many of the fatalities are said to be in hard-to-reach areas south of Marrakech.
Many buildings have been reduced to rubble in Marrakech. Pic: Al Oula TV
The earthquake struck late on Friday – damaging buildings in major cities and sending panicked people pouring into the streets.
At least 153 people were injured and are being treated in hospital.
Witnesses in Marrakech told the Reuters news agency that some buildings have collapsed, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Big cracks were seen in a section of the medieval city’s walls.
Local television stations broadcast pictures of a fallen mosque minaret, with rubble lying on smashed cars. Others were seen screaming as they ran out of shopping centres and restaurants.
Officials are working to clear roads so ambulances and aid can reach those affected – but large distances between mountain villages mean it will take time to learn the full extent of the damage.
Montasir Itri, a resident in the mountain village of Asni not far from the epicentre, said most houses were damaged – adding: “Our neighbours are under the rubble and people are working hard to rescue them using available means in the village.”
Aftershocks have been reported – with men, women and children staying out in the streets, frightened of further quakes.
According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre was high in the Atlas Mountains – about 43 miles (70km) away from Marrakech, a popular tourist destination.
