Edmontonians rally to support loved ones devastated by earthquake in Morocco

When Lahsen El Falsi heard his family near Marrakech was safe, it was a relief like no other.

"Thank God, all our families are okay," he said in an interview with CBC's Edmonton AM from Rabat, Morocco.

El Falsi moved back to Morocco after living in Edmonton for multiple years.

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the country's Atlas Mountains last week has left destruction and devastation in its wake.

Nearly 3,000 people are dead and thousands more injured in what is the country's deadliest earthquake in more than six decades.

"Moroccans they are showing their support, their sympathy, toward those affected people," El Falsi said.

While living in Edmonton, El Falsi became one of the founding members of the non-profit Moroccan Society of Alberta in 2011.

The organization is one of multiple groups that are managing financial donations.

LISTEN | Former Edmontonian talks about tragic fallout in Morocco after earthquake

Edmonton AM8:02A former Edmontonian in Morocco on the aftermath of the earthquake

Lahsen El Falsi has been creating ties between Morocco and Edmonton for years. He's a founding member of the Moroccan Society in Alberta. Now he's back in Morocco where he opened the Edmonton Coffee House. Since the earthquake, he's connecting with victims there- and families around the world.

As El Falsi works to help his loved ones, in Edmonton, Imam Sadique Pathan said Al Rashid Mosque has rallied to provide support.

"Entire villages literally almost being wiped off the map. It's really hard to process it," he said.

"The community is very much united. Everyone's working quite closely together, trying to coordinate how best to respond to the needs."

Pathan said mosques in Edmonton are working hard to collect money to send overseas to charities on the ground, such as Islamic Relief Canada.

Officials in Morocco searching for victims and survivors have so far accepted on-the-ground help from just four countries: Spain, the U.K., Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Experts say the most direct way to provide aid to those affected in the city of Marrakech and the rural areas is to donate to organizations that have operations already on the ground.

The Canadian government pledged on Wednesday to match up to $3 million in donations to the Canadian Red Cross's earthquake relief fund over the next few weeks.

Edmontonian Nouamane El Bakkali said he has anxiously been waiting for information to trickle through as some of his family near Marrakech works to recover from the destruction.

"I also have some family members that are close to where the earthquake hit in Marrakech … and just talking to some of them and knowing that we've actually lost some family members and friends … it's pretty sad. It's pretty heartbreaking."

El Bakkali said he also attended a prayer session at Al Rashid Mosque for all the lives lost because of the earthquake and, most recently, the flood that hit Libya's port city of Derna.