Earthquake in Morocco claims over 1,000 lives

AFP / Fadel Senna

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook Morocco on Friday, killing no less than 1,037 individuals and damaging buildings and landmarks in a number of cities, together with Marrakech, in response to native authorities.

The magnitude 7.2 quake struck in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains late on Friday evening. The Interior Ministry mentioned 1,037 individuals had been killed and one other 672 injured in an up to date casualty toll. A neighborhood official mentioned most deaths have been in mountain areas that have been arduous to achieve.

In Marrakech, the closest massive metropolis to the epicentre, residents spent the evening within the open, afraid to go residence.

Buildings within the outdated metropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage web site, suffered injury. A mosque minaret had fallen in Jemaa al-Fna Square, the center of Marrakech’s outdated metropolis. Rescue staff dug by means of the rubble.

Some 150 individuals, principally family of the injured, have been ready outdoors an area hospital. Most had come from mountainous areas outdoors town as their native hospitals lacked the capability to deal with severe accidents.

The Interior Ministry urged calm, saying in a televised assertion that the quake had hit the provinces of Al Haouz, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.

Morocco’s geophysical centre mentioned the quake struck simply after 11 p.m. (2 a.m. UAE time) within the Ighil space of the High Atlas.

It was Morocco’s deadliest since 1960, when a tremor was estimated to have killed no less than 12,000 individuals, in response to the US Geological Survey.

Ighil, a mountainous space with small farming villages, is about 70 km southwest of Marrakech.

Spanish tv RTVE reported tremors from the earthquake have been felt in Huelva and Jaen in Andalusia, southern Spain.

In Marrakech, some homes within the tightly packed outdated metropolis had collapsed, and folks used their palms to take away particles whereas they waited for heavy gear, mentioned resident Id Waaziz Hassan. Footage of the medieval metropolis wall confirmed massive cracks in a single part and components that had fallen, with rubble mendacity on the road.

People within the capital metropolis of Rabat, about 350 km north of Ighil, and within the coastal city of Imsouane, about 180 km to its west, additionally fled their properties, fearing a stronger quake, in response to Reuters witnesses.

In Casablanca, some 250 km north of Ighil, individuals who spent the evening within the streets have been too scared to return to their properties.

“The house rocked aggressively, everyone was scared,” mentioned resident Mohamed Taqafi.

Videos shared on social media of the instant aftermath of the quake, which Reuters couldn’t instantly confirm, confirmed individuals fearfully working out of a procuring centre, eating places and condo buildings and congregating outdoors.

Governments around the globe expressed solidarity and supplied help. Turkey, the place highly effective earthquakes in February killed greater than 50,000 individuals, mentioned it was prepared to offer help.