Are the traditional raw earth constructions, which dot the landscapes of the Moroccan High Atlas, hit on Friday September 8 by an earthquake which left 3,000 dead and more than 5,500 injured, adapted to the seismic risk? In newspapers and on social networks, the debate rages between architects, topographers, seismologists, engineers, geographers, historians and ordinary citizens. For some, the adobe walls, too fragile, bear the responsibility for the thousands of crushed or asphyxiated bodies; others see it as an age-old technique and a heritage to be preserved.
As if to put an end to the discord, the king officially took a stand. At the end of a working meeting devoted to aid to disaster victims, which he chaired on Thursday in Rabat, Mohammed VI insisted “on the need for the reconstruction operation to be carried out on the basis of a notebook charges (…) in harmony with the heritage of the region and which respects its unique architectural characteristics”. The interministerial commission responsible for this emergency program listed in its first version some 50,000 homes totally or partially destroyed, which suggests a titanic project.
In the provinces of Al-Haouz and Taroudant, which alone recorded 90% of the deaths and injuries, one million inhabitants were directly affected by the effects of the earthquake. “Time is running out, it is urgent to rebuild to spare the population the suffering of winter, which is coming soon and which is very cold in the region,” warns academic Brahim Al-Guabli, who taught in the High Atlas. It is not uncommon for temperatures in the high mountains to drop below -10°C.
Efforts will probably be enough
To help survivors, the Moroccan state has promised direct aid of 30,000 dirhams per household (around 2,735 euros) and up to 140,000 dirhams (around 12,765 euros) for each destroyed home. “The reconstruction will cost billions, but Morocco has the means,” estimates Nabil Benabdellah, Minister of Housing from 2012 to 2017. According to him, the project can be financed in part thanks to the rural development fund and the housing solidarity, which is funded by a tax on cement and brings in around 3 billion dirhams (27.5 million euros) each year.
As during the Covid-19 crisis, a special account, intended to collect donations from individuals and contributions from the public and private sectors, was also created. It will be used “to finance the expenses of the emergency program for the rehabilitation and support of house reconstruction efforts,” said the Minister Delegate in charge of the budget, Fouzi Lekjaa. The royal holding company Al-Mada, the Moroccan Central Bank and the Cherifian Phosphate Office have already paid 1 billion dirhams each.
All these efforts, taken together, will probably be enough. The United States Geological Survey estimated losses linked to the earthquake at at least 10 billion dirhams. According to a provisional count published in the Moroccan press, the special account had received more than 6 billion dirhams on Saturday. To avoid straining its budget, the government has announced that it will deduct three days from the salaries of civil servants who request it. The king is also counting on “contributions from brotherly and friendly countries that wish it”.
The fragmented habitat complicates an already arduous task
After the Al-Hoceima earthquake in northern Morocco, which killed more than 600 people and left 30,000 people homeless in 2004, the permanent rehousing of all the homeless took more than two years. Today, their number is ten times greater: almost 300,000, warned UNICEF. Above all, the disaster areas extend over a much larger area. The mountain there is also much higher than in the Rif. “In the High Atlas, it is not uncommon to see douars nestled at more than 1,500 meters. How do you want to move a cement mixer on a path where only a donkey can pass? », Says a hotelier from the region, who wished to remain anonymous.
The fragmented habitat complicates an already difficult task. There are around 4,000 douars in the provinces of Al-Haouz and Taroudant, and there are nearly 2,000 in the province of Chichaoua and the prefecture of Marrakech, also affected by the earthquake. To avoid leaving populations dispersed, some are calling for large-scale rehousing, as was practiced after the Al-Hoceima earthquake with the construction of large real estate complexes.
“But we would have to clear thousands of hectares of land and convince residents to leave douars where they have lived for generations. Even if we got there, it would take a long time,” reacts historian and anthropologist Mustapha Qadery, originally from Demnate in the High Atlas.
Because it is not just a question of rehousing, declared Mohammed VI, we must “launch a thoughtful, integrated and ambitious program for the reconstruction and general upgrading of the affected regions”. According to the High Commission for Planning, Al-Haouz and Taroudant are among the 15 provinces – out of 75 – poorest in Morocco. Agriculture is, by far, the main source of income, but it is essentially subsistence-producing. And although tourism is flourishing there, its benefits do not benefit everyone. The GDP per capita in the Marrakech-Safi region is one of the lowest in the country: barely 21,000 dirhams, half the national average.
The rural exodus should increase
“Apart from livestock breeding and a few crops, most residents live off money sent to them by relatives who work in big cities, from small businesses and sometimes from public employment, but there is no industry likely to to employ a large workforce,” highlights Mustapha Qadery.
The day after the earthquake, Karim Rouissi, from the Architecture and Development association, traveled through the disaster zone of Talat N’Yaaqoub, deploring the extent of the destruction: schools, post offices, dispensaries, including that of the Tinmel mosque, which was in the process of being listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. “Instead of wanting to bring people down from the mountain, it would be better to bring public services up there,” he warns. In its report submitted to Mohammed VI in 2021, the special commission on the development model highlighted “isolation” and “low availability of transport”.
The general amazement of the first days after the disaster was followed by the rediscovery of a widely supported reality: the region, as touristy as it may be, did not benefit enough from the development efforts undertaken at the start of the reign of Mohammed VI. It lacks paved roads and equipment, complicating investments and reducing economic opportunities.
“Rurality is not a problem in itself, but it is exacerbated by the absence of infrastructure,” explains Brahim Al-Guabli. The youth of the High Atlas are then forced to emigrate to the cities, swelling the procession of some 150,000 rural people who leave the Moroccan countryside each year in search of work. Without a massive commitment from the State, there is little doubt that this exodus will increase, emptying the mountain and its valleys even further.