2023-09-09 07:37:57
More than 300 people were killed by a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake that shook central Morocco on Friday night, with its epicenter near the tourist city of Marrakech, the Interior Ministry said.
“According to a provisional balance, this earthquake caused the death of 296 people in the provinces and municipalities of Al Haouz, Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant,” the ministry said in a statement.
In addition, another 153 people were injured and are hospitalized, the same source said.
Videos published on social networks and the stories of survivors evoke damage in Marrakech, 320 km south of Rabat, and scenes of panic among the population, who ran out of their houses seeking the protection of the open sky.
One of them shows a minaret that collapsed in the famous Jemaa el Fna square, the heart of Marrakech, injuring two people.
“We felt a very violent shaking, I realized it was an earthquake,” Abdelhak el Amrani, a 33-year-old resident of Marrakech, told AFP by phone.
“I saw the buildings moving. We don’t have the reflections of this type of situation. Then I went out and there were many people outside. People were shocked and panicked. Children were crying, parents were helpless,” Amrani explained.
“The electricity went out for about 10 minutes and so did the telephone network, but then it came back on. Everyone decided to stay outside,” he added.
The United States Geological Survey indicated that the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 and a depth of 18.5 kilometers, with its epicenter 71 kilometers southwest of Marrakech.
Moroccan media claim that it is the most powerful earthquake to hit this kingdom in North Africa so far.
The Ministry of the Interior stated that the authorities had “mobilized all necessary resources to intervene and help in the affected areas.”
Hospitals in Marrakech recorded a “massive influx” of injured people and the local blood transfusion center launched a call to the population to make donations.
The shock could also be felt in coastal cities such as the capital Rabat, Casablanca or Essaouira.
In a town in Al Haouz province, a family was trapped in the rubble after their house collapsed, according to media.
Videos recorded in Marrakech show residents leaving buildings in terror amid the shaking, debris falling from buildings into narrow alleys and vehicles covered in stones.
Frenchman Michael Bizet, who owns three tourist establishments in traditional houses (riads) in the old city of Marrakech, said that the shaking woke him up during his sleep.
“I thought my bed was flying away. I went out into the street half naked and went to see the riads. It was total chaos, a real catastrophe, crazy,” he explained.
Fayssal Badour, 58, was driving home when he noticed the tremor. “I stopped and realized the catastrophe. It was very serious (…) The screams and cries were unbearable,” he said.
“There is not much damage, more panic,” a resident of Essaouira, 200 km from Marrakech, told AFP by phone. “People are in the squares, in the cafes, they prefer to sleep in the open,” he added.
The earthquake was also felt in several provinces in western Algeria, the neighboring country, but its civil defense department ruled out any damage or casualties.
Speaking at the G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “extremely saddened by the loss of life following the earthquake in Morocco.”
The Alawite kingdom experiences frequent earthquakes in its northern region due to its position between the African and Eurasian plates.
In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when an earthquake hit Al Hoceima, in the northeast of the country.
In 1980, the 7.3 magnitude El Asnam earthquake in neighboring Algeria was one of the most destructive earthquakes in contemporary history. It left 2,500 dead and at least 300,000 homeless.
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