Finland’s president, premier and foreign minister expressed condolences to Morocco on Saturday morning after the devastating earthquake that hit the country late Friday.
The magnitude 6.8 quake struck in Morocco's High Atlas mountains around 11 pm. The Moroccan Interior Ministry said on Saturday afternoon that over 1,000 people had been killed, with hundreds more injured. The quake damaged many buildings in Marrakech, the nearest big city.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) described the situation as “shocking”.
Speaking on Yle’s Ykkösaamu current affairs programme, he said that Finland stands ready to help if there is a request from Morocco.
“If there is a request for assistance from Morocco through the EU system, Finland is of course ready to help,” Orpo said. He mentioned the earthquake in Turkey in February, when Finland sent aid workers on a rapid timetable.
That disaster left some 60,000 people dead in Turkey and Syria.
Red Cross could send specialists within 24 hours
The Finnish Red Cross said on Saturday that it is ready to quickly send aid to the earthquake-stricken region. So far though, there has been no request for help through the international umbrella organisation, it said.
According to the FRC, the first aid workers could leave within about a day of such a request. These could include, logistics and healthcare professionals, for example, the NGO said.
Orpo says that according to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about 200 Finns are staying or travelling in Morocco.
“Currently, the authorities are not aware of any Finnish victims. The situation is being closely monitored all the time,” he added.
Foreign ministry officials have contacted Finns known to be in the earthquake, and all were reported safe as of midday on Saturday.
Seismologist: Thousands of deaths likely
Finland’s head of state and foreign minister also expressed their condolences to Morocco.
President Sauli Niinistö sent condolences to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI over the loss of life due to the quake. His office made the announcement on Saturday on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) also expressed her condolences on X.
“All the victims and the families who lost loved ones are in my thoughts,” Valtonen wrote.
Meanwhile the director of the University of Helsinki’s Institute of Seismology, Timo Tiira, predicted that the number of deaths from the earthquake is likely to rise into the thousands. Speaking to Yle early Saturday morning, Tiira noted that no earthquake of this magnitude has occurred in that area for more than a century.
The most recent earthquakes of this size in the North African region occurred in Algeria in 1980 and 2003. The latter quake killed more than 2,200 people.
14.09: Added FRC statement; updated death toll.
16.16: Updated death toll.