More than 600 people killed in a violent and rare earthquake in Morocco

Local reports indicate that a powerful earthquake took place in Morocco on Friday night, resulting in the tragic loss of life for a minimum of 632 individuals. Over 300 people were also injured.

People who live in Marrakech, which is the closest big city to the center of the event, reported that certain buildings in the old city, a place recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, had fallen down.

Moroccan TV showed pictures of a mosque tower that had fallen down. The tower caused rubble to fall onto cars and damage them.

Worried families gathered in the streets or huddled on the sidewalk, some holding their children, blankets, or other things, afraid of more aftershocks.

A very strong earthquake destroys buildings in Marrakech, Morocco.
Rescue workers searched for people alive in the remains of buildings, using their bright yellow vests to light up the dark scene at night.

The earthquake caused a big hole in a house, and a car was almost buried under the pieces of a collapsed building.

Baskets, buckets, and clothes were visible among scattered rocks in the remains of a building.
Montasir Itri, a person who lives in the mountain village of Asni close to the center, said that most houses in the village were harmed.

He said that our neighbors are trapped under the collapsed building and people in the village are working really hard to save them using whatever they can.

To the west, close to Taroudant, a teacher named Hamid Afkar said that he had to leave his house because of the earthquake and could still feel smaller tremors afterwards.

The ground moved for about 20 seconds. “He said that as he quickly went downstairs from the second floor, doors opened and closed on their own. ”

Morocco’s geophysical center reported that a strong earthquake happened in the Ighil area of the High Atlas. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7. 2

The earthquake in the US is measured to be 6. 8 in magnitude, and it was relatively close to the surface, about 11. 5 miles deep

Ighil is a place with mountains and small villages where people farm. It is located about 40 miles in the southwest direction from Marrakech. The earthquake happened a little after 11pm nearby.
The recent earthquake in Morocco is the most deadly one since another earthquake happened in 2004 near Al Hoceima in the northern Rif mountains, causing the death of over 600 people.

More pictures shared on the internet displayed people running and shouting near the famous Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, which was built a long time ago.

The news in Morocco said that the mosque got damaged, but we don’t know how bad it is yet. The 226-foot tall tower in Marrakech is called the ‘roof of Marrakech’.

Moroccan people shared videos of the damaged red walls around the old city in Marrakech, which is a special place recognized by UNESCO.

The leader of a town close to where the earthquake happened said that many houses in nearby towns were destroyed or severely damaged, and some areas lost power and had blocked roads.

Abderrahim Ait Daoud, who is in charge of Talat N’Yaaqoub, said that authorities are trying to make the roads in Al Haouz Province clear so that ambulances and aid can reach the affected people. However, the villages in the mountains are far apart, so it will take some time to know how much damage has occurred.

Local news sources said that the roads going to the mountain area near the center were full of cars and blocked with rocks that had fallen, which made it harder for rescuers to reach the area quickly.

Earthquakes don’t happen very often in North Africa.

Lahcen Mhanni, who is in charge of monitoring earthquakes, said on 2M TV that the earthquake in the mountain region was the biggest one ever observed.

In 1960, a big earthquake happened close to the city of Agadir in Morocco and many people died.

The earthquake in Agadir caused Morocco to make changes in the rules for construction. However, many buildings, especially rural homes, are not made strong enough to handle these kinds of earthquakes.

In 2004, a very strong earthquake happened near the city of Al Hoceima by the Mediterranean Sea. It caused over 600 people to die.

The earthquake on Friday could be felt in Portugal and Algeria, as reported by the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria’s Civil Defense agency, which is in charge of emergency response.