Moroccan King Chairs Meet On Activating Rehousing Program For Earthquake Victims

Rabat, Sep 15 (TNA) The Moroccan king, Mohammed VI, on Thursday chaired, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, a working meeting devoted to activating the emergency program for rehousing disaster victims and caring for the categories most affected by the Al Haouz earthquake, which was the subject of Royal Instructions during the working session presided over by the Sovereign on September 9, 2023.

This meeting follows on from the series of measures ordered by the Sovereign, aimed at mobilizing all resources, with the necessary speed and efficiency, to help stricken families and citizens, and in particular to deploy rehabilitation and reconstruction measures as quickly as possible, in the localities affected by this natural disaster of unprecedented proportions.

This first version of the rehousing program presented to the Sovereign, and which was prepared by the inter-ministerial commission set up pursuant to the High Royal Instruction, covers some 50,000 totally or partially collapsed homes in the five provinces affected.

It consists, on the one hand, of emergency temporary rehousing measures, in particular through adapted formulas for on-site accommodation in structures designed to withstand the cold and bad weather; or in reception sites equipped with all the necessary amenities. In addition, the State will grant emergency aid of 30,000 dirhams to the households concerned.

In this respect, the Sovereign drew the attention of the competent authorities to the extremely high priority of the rehousing operation, which must be carried out under the necessary conditions of fairness and constant attention to the needs of the populations concerned.

On the other hand, the program consists of immediate reconstruction actions, which will be deployed after preliminary expertise operations and land preparation and stabilization work. To this end, direct financial assistance of 140,000 dirhams has been earmarked for totally collapsed dwellings, and 80,000 dirhams to cover rehabilitation work on partially collapsed homes.