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By Sam Metz and Mohamed Boukdire

The Associated Press

AMIZMIZ, Morocco 鈥� The building where Naima Ait Brahim Ouali lived in a third-story apartment with her five children was one of many that were destroyed by the earthquake that killed nearly 3,000 people in Morocco on Sept. 8.

Ait Brahim Ouali, a house cleaner, and her daughter fell down stairs as the quake tore off the building鈥檚 top floor and laid waste to much of the rest of their neighborhood in the town of Amizmiz, near the epicenter.

Like children in many parts of the world, Ait Brahim Ouali鈥檚 youngest had just started the school year. Now, relocated with the rest of the Sourejdid neighborhood to a tent city in the town center, fear sets in each night at around 11 p.m. 鈥� the time the earthquake occurred.

鈥淭hey saw death,鈥� she said of her children, who range in age from 10 to 25. One of her daughters now has nightmares.

The displaced family is one of many in Morocco wondering what their future holds, particularly as autumn approaches and nights get colder. Though many villagers are receiving food and water, officials said it could take five or six years to rebuild Atlas Mountain communities like Amizmiz, which is more than an hour鈥檚 drive from the closest big city, Marrakech.

The death toll from the 6.8 magnitude quake stood at 2,946 on Wednesday. Several thousand others suffered injuries. The government doesn鈥檛 release the number of deaths by community, but in Amizmiz, everyone seems to know at least one person who was killed.

Reconstruction has already begun in Marrakech鈥檚 old Jewish Quarter and other damaged parts of the city frequented by tourists. In Al Haouz 鈥� the province that includes Amizmiz and was the hardest hit by the earthquake and its aftershocks 鈥� efforts are still focused on immediate humanitarian needs.

After King Mohammed VI presided over an emergency response meeting on Thursday, Moroccan officials said the government would fund both emergency relief and future reconstruction for residents of roughly 50,000 homes that were damaged or destroyed by allocating cash depending on the level of destruction.

Some in the Al Haouz region鈥檚 mountain towns and villages might move away, but Ait Brahim Ouali said she鈥檚 committed to staying 鈥� just not in the same type of multistory brick apartment building. She doubts that her family would get enough government assistance to be able to afford a Marrakech home big enough for everyone.

鈥淲e are afraid for the future,鈥� she said, standing under an umbrella outside of a yellow tent as children played inside. 鈥淲e just started the new school year, but the earthquake came and ruined everything. We just want somewhere to hide from the rain.鈥�

UNICEF, the United Nations agency that provides aid for children, estimated that roughly 100,000 children have been 鈥渋mpacted鈥� by the quake. That鈥檚 in line with the 300,000 people of all ages who the U.N. estimates were affected, as roughly a third of Morocco鈥檚 population are kids.

Ricardo Pires, a UNICEF spokesman, said that during humanitarian disasters, the organization worries about the trauma of displacement as well as basic needs for children such as access to clean water and medical supplies.

鈥淐hildren get separated from their families; they might be displaced, on the move, and not knowing where to go to stay safe,鈥� Pires said. 鈥淭his is always a major risk in humanitarian disasters or when earthquakes like this break and it鈥檚 very hard to reach certain areas.鈥�

Like many in Amizmiz, 40-year-old plumber Rachid Alachoun said his family plans to stay and rebuild. Half of their home near the town鈥檚 old Jewish quarter, the Mellah, collapsed during the quake. The yellow tent in the town center that his family was given isn鈥檛 big enough for everyone, so Alachoun stayed behind, navigating between rubble and exposed wires to get to his kitchen and bathroom.

On Wednesday, he cooked chicken, carrots and olives in a clay pot on the gas stove in an area of the home he鈥檚 kept tidy. Cooking with gas beneath a cinderblock ceiling is especially precarious when aftershocks strike, such as a 4.6-magnitude tremor on Thursday morning.

The Alachouns were told Sept. 9 that assistance was on the way. Food and water soon arrived, but they lacked shelter until they were given the tent Tuesday.

鈥淭hey told us not to come to get supplies and that supplies would come, so we waited,鈥� Alachoun鈥檚 sister, Loubna, said from the coated polyester tent she is sharing with another brother, her father and mother, and a close family friend.