A strong earthquake struck Morocco’s Excessive Atlas mountains late on Friday, killing at the least 296 folks, destroying buildings and sending residents of main cities speeding from their houses.
The Inside Ministry mentioned the quantity constituted a preliminary dying toll and that 153 folks had been injured.
A neighborhood official mentioned most deaths have been in mountain areas that have been laborious to succeed in.
Residents of Marrakech, the closest large metropolis to the epicenter, mentioned some buildings had collapsed within the previous metropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage website, and native tv confirmed footage of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble mendacity on smashed vehicles.
Pan-Arab al-Arabiya information channel reported that 5 folks have been killed from one household, citing unnamed native sources.
The Inside Ministry, in its televised assertion on the dying toll, urged calm and mentioned the quake had hit the provinces of Al Haouz, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.
Montasir Itri, a resident of the mountain village of Asni close to the epicenter, mentioned most homes there have been broken.
“Our neighbors are beneath the rubble and individuals are working laborious to rescue them utilizing obtainable means within the village,” he mentioned.
Additional west, close to Taroudant, instructor Hamid Afkar mentioned he had fled his house and there had been aftershocks following the preliminary quake.
“The earth shook for about 20 seconds. Doorways opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second flooring,” he mentioned.
Morocco’s geophysical middle mentioned the quake struck within the Ighil space of the Excessive Atlas with a magnitude of seven.2.
The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 6.eight and mentioned it was at a comparatively shallow depth of 11.5 miles.
Ighil, a mountainous space with small farming villages, is about 40 miles southwest of Marrakech. The quake struck simply after 11 p.m.
The earthquake is Morocco’s deadliest since a 2004 tremor close to Al Hoceima within the northern Rif mountains which killed over 600 folks.
MARRAKECH DAMAGE
In Marrakech, some homes within the tightly packed previous metropolis had collapsed and folks have been working laborious by hand to take away particles whereas they waited for heavy tools, mentioned resident Id Waaziz Hassan.
Footage of the medieval metropolis wall confirmed large cracks in a single part and components that had fallen, with rubble mendacity on the road.
One other Marrakech resident, Brahim Himmi, mentioned he noticed ambulances popping out of the previous city and plenty of constructing facades broken.
He mentioned folks have been frightened and have been staying outdoors in case of one other quake.
“The chandelier fell from the ceiling and I ran out. I’m nonetheless within the street with my youngsters and we’re scared,” mentioned Houda Hafsi, 43, in Marrakech.
One other lady there, Dalila Fahem, mentioned there have been cracks in her home and injury to her furnishings. “Fortuitously I hadn’t gone to sleep but,” she mentioned.
Folks in Rabat, about 220 miles north of Ighil, and within the coastal city of Imsouane, about 180 km to its west, additionally fled their houses, fearing a stronger quake, in line with Reuters witnesses.
Movies shared on social media of the speedy aftermath of the quake, which Reuters couldn’t instantly confirm, confirmed folks fearfully operating out of a shopping mall, eating places and condo buildings and congregating outdoors.