The earthquake in Morocco happened at night when most people were already sleeping. But the earthquake, which was measured at 6. 8, quickly caused people to leave their homes in extreme fear.
A smaller earthquake, measuring 4. 9 magnitude, happened 19 minutes later.
More than 600 people have died, but the exact number of fatalities is still uncertain. The earthquake started in the High Atlas Mountains, but many people died in Marrakesh, which is about 44 miles from the epicentre.
Abdelhak El Amrani, a 33-year-old resident of Marrakesh, said to the AFP news agency, “We experienced a strong shaking, and I understood it was an earthquake. I saw buildings that looked like they were moving.
After that, I stepped outside and saw many people gathered there. Everyone was very surprised and scared. The kids were sobbing and the parents were extremely upset.
Michael Bizet, a person from France, who has three buildings in the old part of Marrakesh, said to AFP: “I believed my bed was going to float away. ” I walked outside with only some of my clothes on and quickly went to visit traditional Moroccan houses called riads.
“It was a complete mess, a true disaster, complete craziness. ”
British journalist Martin Jay, who lives in Morocco, said that he was woken up because he heard people screaming.
He said on BBC Radio 4’s Today show: “The first sign was when my wife started screaming. We both fell asleep, but not deeply. We were just in a light sleep, I guess. She began to shout loudly, and I slowly woke up but couldn’t understand what was happening.
“I didn’t fully understand the situation, and I couldn’t believe I was experiencing an earthquake. ”
Everything was shaking, all the things in the room – the bed, the floor, and the walls were moving back and forth.
He said that people were told not to go back to their houses.
So, in Morocco, there was a strange evening where almost everyone in the towns was sitting on the ground outside their houses or apartment buildings. They were scared because they believed another earthquake would happen two hours later. Thank goodness it didn’t happen.
Fayssal Badour, who lives in Marrakesh, was driving when the earthquake happened at 11:11 PM local time.
“I stopped and realized that it was a complete disaster,” he said to the agency. “The loud yelling and weeping were extremely difficult to endure. ”
There are ongoing attempts to rescue people, and many buildings are badly damaged.
Montasir Itri, who lives in a mountain village called Asni near the center of the earthquake, said that our neighbors are trapped under the collapsed buildings and people are doing their best to save them using what resources are available in the village.
Houda Outassaf was walking in Jemaa el-Fna Square in Marrakesh when the ground suddenly started shaking.
“He told AFP that it was an incredible feeling,” he said. “We are okay and unharmed, but I am still feeling extremely surprised and unsettled. ”
I lost at least 10 people from my family who passed away. I can hardly believe it, because I was with them just two days ago.
Tourists really like visiting the old city of Marrakesh, and that’s why thousands of them go there every year.
Lorella Palmer, a woman from Britain who was on vacation there, said to BBC News: “The room suddenly started moving. ”
“She said that your brain doesn’t quickly understand what is happening until the picture frames and bed begin to shake. ”