ALHUCEMAS (MOROCCO): SITUATION REPORT 7
Latest updates are underlined
First phase of emergency aid ends
1. The Alhucemas earthquake, which hit in the early hours of Tuesday 24th February, has caused 628 deaths, 926 wounded, and rendered 15,230 persons homeless, with the destruction of 2539 homes, most of them in rural areas, according to Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP). Other sources estimate that 30,000 persons have been affected, directly or indirectly, and that they have been living away from their homes, above all due to the fear provoked by sequences of aftershocks.
2. HM the King, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs each offered Spain's aid to their Moroccan counterparts as soon as they were informed of the news (the Moroccan Foreign Minister later gave a more specific indication of the aid that would be necessary).
3. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, through the Spanish International Co-operation Agency (AECI), following precise instructions from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has co-ordinated the actions of Spain's Ministries of the Interior (Directorate General of Civil Protection), Defence (Directorate General of Defence Policy), Health, and Education, Culture, and Sports; the Spanish Government's Delegation in Melilla; and Spain's regional and municipal administrations and non-government organisations.
4. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy announced that the Spanish government had approved €20 million for Morocco. This aid shall be divided into two parts: the first is non-repayable aid (donation) from the Ministry of the Economy, of up to €10 million, linked to financing Spanish goods and services-as well as necessary foreign materiel and local expenses-for assistance and reconstruction projects in the earthquake zone, preferentially involving infrastructures, potable water and plumbing, electricity, and health care; the second is within the framework of the Debt Conversion through Investment Agreement, and consists of anticipating the cancellation of the 2004 debt, to a value of €10 million, with the funds being devoted to the earthquake zone, with 50% linked to the sectors of housing, potable water and plumbing, electricity, and health care.
5. The Director of the AECI's Technical Co-operation Office (OTC) immediately travelled to Alhucemas, reporting to the Spanish Embassy in Rabat, as did the Spanish Consul in Nador. Moreover, the Jovellanos Spanish School in Alhucemas offered its services as an operations support centre. Meanwhile, the Secretary General for Health travelled to Melilla.
6. Less than 24 hours after the news broke, Spain had already sent some 50 specialists and two airplanes of aid to the disaster area. In the first days after the quake, more than 100 specialists went to the disaster area.
7. Spain has contributed 12 aid planes, especially chartered, and sent to the airports of Alhucemas and nearby cities:
7.1./7.2 In the early morning hours of Wednesday the 25th, two Hércules planes from the Spanish Air Force, chartered and co-ordinated by the AECI, took off from Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base. Those travelling on the planes included the head of AECI's emergency services, Juan Bartolomé; a civil protection co-ordinator from the Government Delegation in Catalonia; six civil protection volunteers from the City of Getafe (the head of its medical services, a physiotherapist, two search dogs and their trainers, and two technicians); six firemen from the City of Madrid; and four firemen from the Madrid Region; as well as the planes' 12 crew members. The planes also transported materiel from the aforesaid institutions, and from the Spanish Red Cross, Tragsa, and COFARES, including: 2000 blankets, 1000 family hygiene kits, 150 first aid kids, 100 beds, 400 kg of medicines, 80 flashlights, and two electricity generators. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ana Palacio, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary-General of the AECI, went to Torrejón that night to personally visit the departing emergency teams.
7.3. On the afternoon of Wednesday the 25th, another Hércules from the Spanish Air Force, chartered by the AECI, with nearly four tonnes of materiel acquired by the AECI: field tents for 300 persons, 1987 foldable water tanks, and a water purifying system.
7.4. On the night of Wednesday the 25th, from Torrejón Air Base, another Air Force Plane, also chartered by the AECI and carrying material acquired by it: a large electricity generator (provided by the Directorate General of Civil Protection), a water purifying system-on a trailer-able to treat 3000 litres/hour, and four foldable 10,000-litre water tanks; and blankets donated by TRAGSA.
7.5. On the night of Wednesday the 25th, another Air Force plane, chartered and co-ordinated by the AECI-along with the DG of Civil Protection-took off, carrying 24 specialists: a medical team form the City of Madrid (two physicians, two nurses, and six emergency technicians) with a field hospital (tent, heater, two electricity generators, medical supplies) and a vehicle; a team from the City of Granada (seven persons with two dogs); from the City of Lérida (two persons with two dogs); and the City of Badajoz (four persons with four dogs).
7.6. Thursday the 26th: commercial plane chartered by the Spanish Red Cross, in co-ordination with the AECI, departing from Torrejón Air Base, financed by the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), with an emergency response unit, a logistical unit, and a vehicle.
7.7. Thursday the 26th: An Air Force plane, chartered by the AECI, with material acquired by it: two water-purifying systems able to treat 3000 litres/hour, with their trailers, and two large electrical generators, and 100 blankets donated by TRAGSA. The head of the AECI Emergencias Section, Pablo Muelas, was also on board. When the plane returned to Torrejón, it carried back 32 persons from the teams that had been sent previously.
7.8. Friday the 27th: commercial plane chartered by the Fons Catalá de Cooperació, from Barcelona to Uxda, carrying 500 small field tents for 1500 persons, 1500 blankets, and 9000 m2 of plastic. This aid is being sent to Tamasin, 30 km from Alhucemas.
7.9. Friday the 27th: commercial plane chartered by the Junta de Andalucía, from Turin, Italy to Nador, carrying 170 field tents for approximately 1000 persons.
7.10. Friday the 27th: a Spanish Air Force Hercules, chartered by the AECI from Gando (Canary Islands) to Nador, carrying materiel donated by the Canary Islands Government: 200 blankets and 1020 family hygiene kits.
7.11. Wednesday, 3rd March: a Spanish Air Force Hercules, from Zaragoza, chartered by the AECI, with 20 prefabricated houses, acquired by the AECI.
7.12. Wednesday, 3rd March: a Spanish Air Force Hercules, from Zaragoza, chartered by the AECI, with the aim of picking up the teams from Madrid and Getafe which had arrived a week earlier. They were welcomed home at Torrejón by the AECI Secretary General, who had co-ordinated all of their actions, together with the Director General of Civil Protection,
8. On Wednesday the 26th, under the co-ordination of the AECI in Tazarine, a field hospital was installed in Ait Kamra, to serve a rural area some 30 km from Alhucemas. It was manned by 11 specialists sent form the City of Madrid-the team noted above-and 5 more from the City of Getafe, together with a co-ordinator from the Directorate General of Civil Protection and the head of the AECI's emergency services, along with volunteers from Andalusia's Civil Protection Agency and an ambulance from Seville's SAMU. To date, approximately 400 patients have been treated. Hundreds of blankets and hygiene kits have been handed out, and 160 field tents were also installed in this zone. Sunday, the Moroccan Minister of Health, Dr. Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, visited the Spanish field hospital.
9. Likewise, field tents donated by Spain were installed in the town of Imzuren, one of those most damaged by the earthquake.
10. Early on the morning of Wednesday the 25th, another 33 persons arrived in Alhucemas by land, from Melilla: 14 firemen and six policemen from the local Melilla administration; nine members of Firemen without Borders (with three dogs); and five from the Spanish Red Cross.
11. Also arriving from Melilla, by land last night in three trucks rented by the AECI-through the Government Delegation in Melilla-were 75 large field tents able to shelter 2000 persons, donated by the Spanish Army.
12. On Friday the 27th, by the same route, two lorries rented by the AECI arrived in Nador, with four forklifts for loading and unloading planes and lorries, at the express request of the Moroccan government. One of these forklifts was taken to the Red Crescent camp.
13. On 1st March, a lorry arrived carrying medical materiel, including WHO emergency kits for 10,000 persons, donated by Catalan organisations.
14. The Government of the Canary Islands has donated a desalination/water purification plant to Alhucemas, which arrived by ship.
15. Friday the 5th, following the indications of the local authorities, 20 prefabricated houses donated by the AECI were installed. Of these, 17 will be used as living quarters for boarding students at a primary/secondary school in Beni Bou Ayás, 5 km from Imzuren; the other three have been installed at the Mohamed V Hospital in Alhucemas.
16. The Spanish Red Cross has had up to 25 technicians on the ground, sent from Melilla, the Spanish mainland, and Algeria, working as part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, directly co-ordinating with the Moroccan Red Crescent and sister societies in other countries. International aid is being received at the Spanish Red Cross logistics centre. In a report issued yesterday, the International Federation, in a report issues on 1 March, announced that 100% of the international aid requested is now available, and there are no major unmet needs. It is now working to improve the living conditions of the affected population.
17. Other Spanish organisations-especially those which have already worked in Morocco on development co-operation projects-are also working in situ: CODESPA, MPDL, ACPP, MSF, Medicos Mundi, Bomberos en Acción, Mensajeros de la Paz, Fons Catalá de Cooperació, Cáritas Española, Agencia Catalana de Cooperación Internacional, and the City of Barcelona.
18. All of the actions managed by the AECI-which is constantly in contact with the Spanish Embassy in Rabat-are being directly co-ordinated with the Moroccan authorities and with the Moroccan Red Crescent,and other donor countries, for the sake of maximum efficiency. Therefore, the aid is being sent at the request of the Moroccan authorities in charge of managing the emergency situation, or with their express acceptance, once its appropriateness to actual onsite needs have been studied. In this regard, the countries of the European Union have agreed to send only aid that is requested specifically, with the aim of avoiding duplications or unnecessary actions.
19. The Jovellanos Spanish School in Alhucemas re-opened yesterday for its usual classes.
20. A delegation from the Northern Morocco Development Agency (Agence pour la Promotion et le Développement Economique et Social des Préfectures et Provinces du Nord du Royaume) visited Madrid to meet with the AECI and other Spanish administrative departments regarding the possibilities for post-emergency reconstruction efforts in Alhucemas, and the development of the region in general. The delegation was headed by Mrs Inane Benyaich, head of the agency's International Co-operation Department.
21. The emergency aid actions co-ordinated by the AECI will move forward in a different manner, now that the first phase has ended. All AECI personnel have returned to Madrid or Rabat.
22. The value of AECI's contribution (chartering 10 airplanes, water purifying installations, electrical generators, other materiel) has reached € 500,000, of which €200,000 were donated by the Valencia Region.