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Rescue efforts are continuing in north-eastern Morocco, where there was an earthquake early on Tuesday morning. Buildings were destroyed outside the port city of al-Hoceima and in the nearby mountain area. Around five hundred and sixty people may have died in the earthquake. This report from Pascale Harter:

The news

Day has broken on a desolate scene in the Rif mountain region of Morocco. In al-Hoceima, people spent the night huddled together under makeshift plastic tents. They have either been made homeless by the earthquake or are simply too scared to stay inside, as aftershocks rattle through the city, a terrifying reminder of Tuesday's devastation.

For those in the mountain villages scattered around al-Hoceima, desperation is turning to tragedy. Rescue workers have been unable to get to the worst hit areas where they believe whole families have been buried alive as their homes collapsed. Volunteers have worked through the night, but they are poorly trained and plainly under-equipped, often using their bare hands to clear rubble. They hope that today digging equipment and expertise will reach this inaccessible mountain region.

But with the new day has dawned the knowledge that for the families in the isolated rural villages here help almost certainly comes too late. Already talk has turned from what can be done to rescue survivors from the rubble to what can be done for a homeless population already mourning their dead.

Pascale Harter, BBC, al-Hoceima, Morocco


the words

Day has broken=When ‘day breaks’ it is dawn; the start of the day

desolate=A ‘desolate’ place is sad; empty; lacking in comfort

huddled together=If people ‘huddle together’ they stay close too each other for warmth and comfort

makeshift=‘Makeshift’ things are temporary and usually of poor quality; often because there is nothing better available.

aftershocks=smaller earthquakes, which occur after a large earthquake

devastation=serious and widespread destruction or damage

desperation=loss of hope; if people feel ‘desperation’ they think that situation is so bad, they will do anything to change it

rubble=pieces of brick or stone from a destroyed building

isolated rural villages=villages in the coutryside that are a long way from towns and cities

mourning=If people are ‘mourning’ they are feeling sad about someone’s death