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Morocco earthquake: Hull man helps build shelters

BBC Steven SleightBBC
Mr Sleight is part of a team of volunteers who have built shelters for locals in Morocco who lost their homes in the earthquake

A man from Hull who got caught in the Morocco earthquake in 2023 has been building shelters to help locals.

Steve Sleight, a plumber who lives near the Atlas Mountains, said it was a "real joy" to provide temporary homes for people.

A 6.8 magnitude quake on 8 September caused thousands of deaths.

Mr Sleight was "gazing at the stars" on a friend's roof when the earthquake happened.

Steve Sleight People running from rubble next to buildings in MoroccoSteve Sleight
Many buildings had been reduced to rubble following the earthquake in Morocco

Mr Sleight, 50, moved to Morocco in 2019 to become a mountain guide.

His new home in the town of Amizmiz is around 34 miles (55km) south of Marrakesh and about seven miles (12km) away from the epicentre of the earthquake.

Currently back in East Yorkshire for work, Mr Sleight described the earthquake as "like a train that was coming towards me", and said it lasted for around 20 seconds.

He said no one was injured, but three or four houses in the village were flattened.

But with nearby villages being reduced to rubble, Mr Sleight teamed up with some friends to help distribute food, water, sanitary products and basic first aid kids.

Steve Sleight Shelters built in Morocco after earthquakeSteve Sleight
Some locals have built their own walls at each end with a door to make the shelters more of a home

After around two weeks of delivering aid, Mr Sleight said it "became apparent" that the tents families were in were not weatherproof, and could be ripped apart in storms.

Over the past three months, Mr Sleight has volunteered with a temporary-shelter building project to build around 800 shelters in 20 villages up in the mountains.

They have been built using local materials with a layer of tinplate on the outer parts and polystyrene insulation and could last two years.

Mr Sleight said: "It gives people enough time to hopefully start rebuilding their houses."

'Puts life into perspective'

Mr Sleight said he will always remember the "wailing of the women and the grief" that he witnessed when people were being pulled from the rubble.

Reflecting on the locals, he said: "They live simple lives but they're very resilient people. They've been through a lot of trauma which will take them a while to recover from.

"It puts life into perspective. To be able to help practically is a real joy."

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