08 September 2023 , 22:57
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A massive magnitude seven earthquake tore through Morocco late on Friday night, leaving hundreds dead and homes without power and water.
Footage on social media showed panicked locals screaming and fleeing for cover as the powerful tremor struck the region. Shaking was felt from Rabat to Marrakech and Morocco’s Interior Ministry have said that at least 296 people have died. Additionally, 153 injured people were sent to hospitals for treatment. The ministry wrote that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and occurred about 18 kilometers (11 miles) below the surface. It said the quake hit at 11:11 p.m. and was centered about 56.3 kilometres (34.9 miles) west of Oukaimeden, a popular ski resort in the Atlas Mountains. According to the country's National Seismic Network it began at about 2.11am local time and measured seven on the Richter scale.
Some buildings in Marrakech were reduced to rubble (Michaël Bizet/UGC/AFP via Getty)Moroccans posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in historic Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage site, damaged.
Locals posted videos online showing some buildings turned to rubble. Tourists and others shared footage of people evacuating restaurants in Marrakech. One video from the quake appears to show people fleeing through a shopping centre, screaming and shouting. Crowds can be seen piling down an escalator to get to safety.
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One person took to social media to say: "I am shocked !!! There was an earthquake at #Maroc Allahu Akbar! This is in my village 1 hour from Taliouine (in the south) May Allah help them".
They shared a video of a rubble filled alleyway, as people picked their way past the debris during the night. Other people said that in places roofs had collapsed in as people flooded into the streets to wait out any aftershocks.
The head of the town of Talat N'Yaaqoub, Abderrahim Ait Daoud, told Moroccan news site 2M that several homes in towns in the Al Haouz region had partly or totally collapsed, and electricity and roads were cut off in some places.
People stayed out in the open to avoid the danger of aftershocks (AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)He said authorities are working to clear roads in the province to allow passage for ambulances and aid to populations affected, but said large distances between mountain villages mean it will take time to learn the extent of the damage.
Earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa. Lahcen Mhanni, Head of the Seismic Monitoring and Warning Department at the National Institute of Geophysics, told 2M TV that the earthquake was "exceptional."
"Mountainous regions in general do not produce earthquakes of this size," he said. "It is the strongest earthquake recorded in the region." In 1960, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near the Moroccan city of Agadir and caused thousands of deaths.
The Agadir quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors. Friday's quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria's Civil Defense agency, which oversees emergency response.