They found King Calarian buried in the rubble.
He was by no means dead. Quite the contrary, he had been trying to look for survivors. There was only so much magic could do and when it came to the injured and the frail― there was no metal he could use against their skin to help their condition. Thus, he had no other choice than to manually help them out whenever he could no longer use his magic.
After buildings were lifted, he and his men would ferry the injured out one by one to the nearest shelter so that their wounds could be tended to. Unfortunately, the dead had to be left behind. They were racing against time and there was no way for them to tend to the deceased as well. Once the survivors were safe, they would help reunite these families with their fallen loved ones.
He didn't fail to notice, however, that the sandstorms eventually ceased and the skies slowly lit up with sunlight.
The culprit behind it appeared shortly after.
Check out the prequel: The Hidden King's Stolen Wife