The Evaluation of the Moroccan Government's Response to the Earthquake in Al Haouz: The Discourse of Local Residents and State Institutions

On September 8, 2023, at 23.11, an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale and with a depth of 8 km struck the Ighil community in Al Haouz Province. As of September 27, the earthquake had killed 2,960 people and injured 5,530. This earthquake is considered the second most destructive in Moroccan history, after the 1960 Agadir earthquake, which killed 12,000 people. bThe Al Haouz earthquake is known for its high intensity and broad impact. These are mountainous areas with elevations ranging from 1,500 to 4,000 meters above sea level. The terrain is severe and the infrastructure is already insufficient. The roads that lead to it were blocked by falling stones. These areas are typically referred to as "last mile communities" because they are the most isolated, difficult to reach, and have limited access to infrastructure and services.

This paper examines the difference between the state's discourse about its response to the Al Haouz earthquake and the population's discourse about the state's response and its actual impact. As a result, the paper is based, first hand, on the chronological monitoring of the official measures taken by the Moroccan authorities and their various departments since the first hours to deal with the earthquake, manage it, and reduce its damage, based on the communications, reports, and documented news issued by the concerned departments. On the other hand, it is based on ethnographic field research in two earthquake areas (the epicenter of the Igil community and Talat Nicoub, and the outskirts of the earthquake epicenter in the Amizmiz region), where we conducted interviews with affected residents to extract their realistic, "local" assessment of the state's policies in managing the effects of the earthquake and damage mitigation measures.