A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday, killing more than 1,000 people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakesh. But the full death toll was not known as rescue workers struggled to navigate rock-strewn roads to the hardest-hit remote mountain villages.
People awakened by the earthquake ran into the streets in terror and disbelief. State television showed people gathered in the streets of Marrakech late at night, afraid to go back inside buildings that may still be unstable.
A man said he was going to a nearby apartment when utensils and things hanging on the wall started falling and people’s feet and chairs were knocked down. One woman reported that she fled her home after experiencing “intense shaking.” A man holding a child in his arms said he was awakened in his bed by the shaking.
The magnitude 6.8 earthquake was the worst earthquake to hit Morocco in 120 years, and it collapsed buildings and walls in ancient cities made of stone and masonry, which were not designed to withstand earthquakes.
Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London, said, “The problem is that while destructive earthquakes are rare, buildings are not constructed strongly enough to withstand strong ground shaking, Hence many buildings collapse resulting in large number of casualties.” “I expect the final death toll will reach thousands once more are known. As with any major earthquake, aftershocks are likely to occur, causing more casualties and hampering search and rescue “
In Marrakesh, the famous Koutoubia Mosque, built in the 12th century, suffered damage, but the extent was not immediately clear. Its 69-metre (226-foot) minaret is known as the “Roof of Marrakesh”. Moroccans also posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Morocco’s interior ministry said Saturday morning that at least 820 people were killed, mostly in Marrakesh and five provinces near the epicenter, and another 672 were injured. The ministry wrote, 205 of the injured were seriously injured.
Rescue teams searched for survivors throughout the night in the darkness, dust and debris.
The head of a town near the epicenter told Moroccan news site 2M that many houses in nearby towns had partially or completely collapsed, and electricity and roads were cut in some places.
Abderrahim Ait Daoud, the head of the town of Talat N’Yaqoub, said authorities were working to clear roads in Al Houz province so ambulances and aid could reach affected populations, but said the large distances between mountain villages meant That will take time to learn. extent of damage.
The Moroccan military and emergency services mobilized aid efforts in areas affected by the damage, but roads leading into the mountainous region surrounding the epicenter were jammed with vehicles and blocked by collapsed rocks, slowing rescue efforts. Official news agency MAP reported that trucks loaded with blankets, camp cots and lighting equipment were trying to reach the badly hit area.
On the steep and winding switchbacks from Marrakesh to Al Houz, ambulances with sirens blaring and cars honking were circling around piles of Mars-like red rock that had fallen from the mountain and blocked the road. Red Cross workers try to remove a boulder blocking a two-lane highway.
Later Saturday morning in Marrakech, ambulances and motorcycles circled the edge of the old city, where business normally resumes on a Saturday morning. Tourists and passers-by passed the barriers and photographed sections of the clay ocher wall that had been broken, sending fragments and dust onto the sidewalk and road.
World leaders offered aid or sent rescue teams as condolences poured in from countries across Europe, the Group of 20 summit in India, Europe, the Middle East and beyond. The president of Turkey, whose country lost thousands of people in a massive earthquake earlier this year, was among those offering aid. France and Germany, which have large populations of people of Moroccan origin, also offered help, and the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia expressed support for the Moroccan people.
The move is necessary to bring in outside rescue teams, despite the Moroccan government not formally asking for help.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had an initial magnitude of 6.8 when it struck at 11:11 p.m. (2211 GMT), with tremors lasting several seconds. The US agency reported a 4.9 magnitude quake 19 minutes later.
The epicenter of Friday’s earthquake was near the town of Ighil in Al Houz province, about 43.5 miles south of Marrakesh. Al Hawz is known for its beautiful villages nestled in the High Atlas and built into the valleys and mountains.
The USGS said the epicenter was 11 miles below the Earth’s surface, while Morocco’s seismic agency said it was 11 kilometers (7 miles) below. Such shallow earthquakes are more dangerous.
Initial reports suggest there was heavy damage and deaths across the entire Marrakesh-Safi region, which more than 4.5 million people call home, according to state figures.
Earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa. Lahsen Mhanni, head of the department of seismic monitoring and warning at the National Institute of Geophysics, told 2M TV that the earthquake was the most powerful ever recorded in the region.
In 1960, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near the city of Agadir, Morocco, killing thousands of people.
The Agadir earthquake prompted changes in building regulations in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural houses, are not built to withstand such shaking.
In 2004, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake killed more than 600 people near the Mediterranean coastal city of Al Hoceima.
Friday’s quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria’s civil protection agency, which oversees the emergency response.