A magnitude of 7.2 earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night has killed over 1,037 people with 600 others injured around Marrakesh Morocco’s Interior Ministry announced.
According to Moroccan state television, in a video posted by local Moroccans showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust, in Marrakesh, whereas in other videos posted showing people screaming.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11.11pm local time, with shaking that lasted several seconds. Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale.
The tremor’s epicentre struck near the town of Ighil, roughly 70km south of Marrakesh.
Authorities continue to assess the damage.
The powerful quake has damaged uncountable numbers of buildings and historic landmarks in major cities that was said to be the country’s deadliest tremor since 2004.
Rather than return to concrete buildings, men, women and children stayed out in the streets worried about aftershocks and other reverberations that could cause their homes to sway.
According to Moroccan news site 2M, several homes in the surrounding areas had partially or totally collapsed.
The epicenter of Friday’s tremor was high in the Atlas Mountains roughly 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) south of Marrakech.
The quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria’s Civil Defense agency, which oversees emergency response.
Other local media also reported roads near the quake’s epicenter were jammed with vehicles and blocked with collapsed rocks, slowing rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, the world has expressed “great pain” over the devastating earthquake in Morocco and offered to provide humanitarian aid and human capabilities and find out the people trapped inside the debris.
(Various reports based)
