A Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake Struck Morocco And More Than 2,000 People Are Dead
More than 2,000 people have been killed and people have been injured after a powerful earthquake struck Morocco on Friday Sep. 8.
More than 2,000 people have been killed and another more than 2,000 people have been injured after a powerful earthquake struck Morocco on Friday Sep. 8.
The 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 11:11 pm local time in the High Atlas Mountains, southwest of Marrakesh, a popular tourist destination.
Authorities said the quake was the biggest to hit the area in more than 100 years. It was felt as far as Spain and Algeria.
The tremor sent people running into the streets and buildings falling to the ground, trapping residents under the rubble.
“I never felt anything like this in my life,” Raja Bouri, a 33-year-old who lives in the outskirts of Marrakesh told the New York Times. “It felt like a plane fell on me.”
Authorities said most of the casualties had been in the mountainous areas, and at least 1,400 of the injured are in critical condition.
A man in Marrakesh told Reuters that people were using their hands to remove debris while they waited for rescuers to arrive.
Residents said many people spent the night sleeping on the streets as they were scared of aftershocks.
Some of the buildings in Marrakesh’s old city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, collapsed, including the minaret of a mosque and various parts of the old city’s famous historical wall.
Koutoubia Mosque, the largest mosque in the city, was damaged, although the extent remains unclear, according to AP.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has ordered the military to deploy aircraft, helicopters, drones and emergency services in response to the disaster.
Officials say they expect the death toll to rise as search and rescue teams continue on Saturday Sep. 9 into the hard to reach mountainous areas that were the hardest hit.
The exact magnitude of the earthquake has not yet been fully confirmed. The US Geological Survey estimated it was 6.8 but a Moroccan agency said 7.2.
World leaders have offered to send in aid and support, including France and Germany – which have large populations of people with Moroccan origin – and Turkey, which was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in February.
