DMW: Around 350-400 Filipinos might have been affected by Morocco quake ---Giselle Ombay/AOL, GMA Integrated News

Around 350 to 400 Filipinos in Morocco might have been affected by the catastrophic earthquake that hit the North African country last week, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Wednesday. DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac said that most Filipinos in Morocco were in the old city of Marrakesh, where the epicenter of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake was located about 72 kilometers southwest. “The earthquake hit the central part of Morocco or south of Casablanca and Rabat where most Filipinos are. The estimate is around 350 to 400 affected Filipinos in that central part, the Marrakesh area,” he said in an ANC interview. Cacdac, however, clarified that authorities have not yet received reports of Filipinos actually affected by the quake as the situation in Morocco is still being monitored by the DMW, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the labor attaché on the ground. The Philippine Embassy in Morocco earlier said no Filipinos were reported hurt or killed following the strong earthquake. DFA Assistant Secretary Paul Cortez said Monday that no Filipino has also so far expressed intention to get repatriated from Morocco. “We hope that no Filipinos will indeed be affected and no further Moroccan citizens will be affected,” Cacdac said. He added that authorities, through the Philippine Embassy in Rabat, are sending basic necessities such as food and water to those in need. The death toll due to the earthquake climbed to 2,901 on Tuesday, while the number of people injured more than doubled to 5,530.—Giselle Ombay/AOL, GMA Integrated News

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