Moroccan Wedding Celebration Saves Village from Deadly Earthquake

The night before the wedding of Habiba Ajdir, 22, and Mohammed Boudad, 30, a apple producer, which was to take place in his village of Kettou on Saturday, the bride’s family organized a party at night as required by custom. A video filmed by a guest shows the moment the earthquake struck, with images of traditional-clad musicians playing flutes and hand-held drums, suddenly giving way to chaos, darkness and screams, reports NDTV World. "We wanted to celebrate. Then the earthquake struck. I didn’t know whether to worry about his village or mine," Boudad said.

Ighil Ntalghoumt, Habiba Ajdir’s village, was left in ruins. Many residents are now homeless. According to the residents, there are no deaths or serious injuries to mourn, as is the case in other parts of the Adassil region, near the epicenter of the shock. Many residents of the neighboring villages of Ighil Ntalghoumt who had also come to attend the Ajdir family’s celebration and share a beef tagine meal were also spared. Ahmed Ait Ali Oubella, 8, is the only person who was injured during the powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake. A stone fell on his head, opening his skull.

The large tent that the bride’s father, Mohamed Ajdir, 54, had set up in the courtyard of his house for the guests has become a shelter for the villagers, who say they need more solid shelters quickly, as cooler and wetter weather is expected in the coming week. The earthquake also blocked the road the bride was taking with Boudad’s brother and his wife to join her husband in Kettou on Saturday. Boudad’s spouse had bought 150 chickens and 30 kg of fruit to celebrate the wedding that afternoon, but much of it had to be thrown away. "When she arrived, there was nowhere to sleep. We’re just looking for a tent," Mohammed Boudad said.