AURORA, Colo. — Friday night's earthquake in Morocco killed at least 2,900 people and hurt another 5,500, according to NBC News. One woman in Aurora knows the devastation all too well.
Hanane Ghiwane received a phone call from her sister on Friday alerting her about the quake. She said she did not realize the magnitude of the situation until she got home and turned on her TV.
"I didn’t sleep for two nights straight because I was on my phone trying to connect with my family, and knowing what’s going on the services got a little cut off. It was just like, what’s going on," Ghiwane said. "My cousins answer [the phone] and they say my aunt and my uncle are safe but 13 members of our families passed away, and then again today I heard that there is one missing."
The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck just southwest of Marrakech. The earthquake destroyed small villages along the mountains, which included the area Ghiwane's mom grew up in. She said her grandfather's home as well as her aunt and uncle's homes were destroyed during the quake.
She visited the village in June.
"My phone was full of like the vacation I had there with my kids and all the great things we had and the village, and now my phone is filled with pictures of houses that have been destroyed and even people," she said.
"It's sad, very sad," Ghiwane said as she choked back tears. "My family's in the streets right now, and those are the family that for 21 years I've been here never ask me for anything. And this is time for me to say, 'You don't have to ask, I'm going to help you.'"
According to NBC News, rescue operations have been ongoing, with search teams from Britain, Spain and Qatar assisting the Moroccan military, but their hope for finding survivors is fading.
Ghiwane shared a photo of an area of rubble.
"This is where they pulled two of my cousins, the pregnant woman and her child, she was dead," she said. "I saw her in June. This is where they pulled her from."
Ghiwane and others in the Colorado Moroccan community have created a GoFundMe to help the small villages that are now left with nothing. Their fundraising efforts are focused on tents and temporary housing. Ghiwane's friends and family have told them people of Morocco have helped with food and clothing. Now, their biggest concern is having shelter, as they expect some rain in the coming days.
"It’s part of me that’s gone and I’m hoping people will help me to bring it back. That’s what we are hoping, we can rebuild these lives again," Ghiwane said.
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