6.8 SR Earthquake Rocks Morocco, Kills 296 People

Rabat, MINA – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter Scale hit Morocco on Friday evening killing at least 296 people, injuring more than 150 people, damaging buildings and making local residents flee to the streets for safety, Aljazeera reported.

“According to preliminary reports, the earthquake killed 296 people in the provinces and municipalities of Al Haouz, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant,” Morocco’s Interior ministry said, adding that 153 people were injured and hospitalized.

The earthquake occurred shortly after 11 p.m. local time (22.00 GMT) on Friday evening, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS estimated the epicenter was in the Atlas Mountains, about 75 km (44 miles) from Marrakesh, the country’s fourth-largest city.

Videos and images shared on social media showed clouds of dust and piles of debris as walls collapsed under the force of the quake.

Other posts depicted shocked residents running out of local buildings and into the streets.

Damage was also reported in Marrakesh’s old city, known as the Medina, a network of historic red walls and narrow streets recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO. However, the extent of the damage is not yet known for certain.

Local media reported that roads leading to the mountainous areas around the epicenter were packed with vehicles and blocked by falling rocks, slowing rescue efforts.

Abderrahim Ait Daoud, the head of the municipality in the area, told Moroccan news site 2M that several nearby houses had partially or completely collapsed, and electricity and roads were cut in several places.

He also said authorities were working to clear roads in Al Haouz province to allow the passage of ambulances and aid to affected communities. The long distances between mountain villages mean it will take time to determine the full extent of the damage.

The earthquake that occurred on Friday night was a relatively shallow earthquake, occurring at a depth of 18.5 km (11.5 miles). The USGS explained the cause of the earthquake was a “reverse tilt fault” in the Atlas Mountains.

The last major earthquake to hit Morocco occurred in 2004, killing more than 600 people. The earthquake, dubbed the Al Hoceima earthquake, was located at an active plate boundary on the country’s northernmost coast, bordering the western Mediterranean Sea. Recorded strength of 6.3.

A larger earthquake struck neighboring Algeria in 1980. Known as the El Asnam earthquake, this 7.3 magnitude earthquake was the strongest seismic activity to have occurred in the region for centuries. Also native to the Atlas Mountains. This disaster leveled houses, displaced 300,000 people and killed more than 2,600 people. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)