The heartbreaking search and recovery continued in Morocco after a powerful and deadly earthquake. On Wednesday night, a local professor who has spent time in Morocco reacted to the devastation.

Doctor Andrew Smith, who teaches at PennWest Edinboro has spent more than two decades in and out of Morocco.

When he heard the news of the earthquake, he felt great despair. He told us that many of the people located where the quake hit the hardest are poor migrants.

Smith was relieved to hear many of his friends, family, and colleagues are safe.

“I’ve heard that there’s still tourists in Marrakesh. They may not be helping out in terms of the recovery from the damage that has been done. Morocco is one of the safer areas in the region to visit. It is a place I dearly love,” said Dr. Andrew Smith, the professor of communications at PennWest Edinboro University.

The death toll in Morocco now stands at more than 2,900 people.