IRU is working with members and partners following Friday’s devastating earthquake in Morocco to help support rescue and relief efforts.
Road transport operators and drivers have quickly mobilised to provide critical support from the onset of the deadly earthquake in Morocco.
IRU member the Association Marocaine des Transports Routiers Internationaux (AMTRI) is working with national and international authorities to help coordinate passenger and goods transport movements with local bus, coach and truck operators.
IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto said, “Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this tragedy. Road transport companies and drivers have raced to help rescue people and deliver essential relief items. We are doing everything we can to support the international response.”
IRU members from neighbouring countries, such as Spain, are also working with their member operators and partners to support relief operations.
Grupo Transonuba SL and SJL Group, members of the Asociación del Transporte Internacional por Carretera (ASTIC), were on the ground from the early hours of the disaster, providing vital relief items to the victims.
Following coordination between the road transport industry and UN bodies during previous disasters, IRU has been in contact with the UN World Food Programme. The UN's Logistics Cluster has launched a dedicated web page for Morocco. UN humanitarian relief coordination efforts are being channelled through the Moroccan Red Crescent and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Moroccan Red Crescent teams were on the ground immediately, coordinating closely with the IFRC and local authorities to assess the situation, support in the search and rescue operation and provide help to affected people. They are providing first aid, psychosocial support and helping transport the injured to hospitals. Donations and offers of transport can be made directly to the Moroccan Red Cresent.
In times of crisis and natural disasters in particular, the road transport community is committed to helping rescue people, rebuild shattered communities, and make mobility networks and supply chains more resilient and better able to withstand future shocks, as reinforced in the IRU Charter 75.