Death toll has now reached 632 – state media
Grim news coming out of Morocco as state TV, citing a government minister, reports the number of people killed in the earthquake has now reached 632, with a further 329 injured.
Key events
The US Geological Survey’s PAGER system, which provides preliminary assessments on the impact of earthquakes, has issued a red alert for economic losses, saying extensive damage is probable and the disaster is likely widespread.
Past events with this alert level have required a national or international level response, according to the US government agency.
‘People were in shock’
A resident of Marrakesh has been speaking to the AFP news agency about his experience. Abdelhak El Amrani, 33, said:
We felt a very violent tremor, and I realised it was an earthquake.
I could see buildings moving. We don’t necessarily have the reflexes for this type of situation.
Then I went outside and there were a lot of people there. People were all in shock and panic. The children were crying and the parents were distraught.”
The power went out for 10 minutes, and so did the (telephone) network, but then it came back on.
Everyone decided to stay outside.
The US Geological Survey has provided this map showing the impact of the earthquake:
People in Rabat, about 350km (220 miles) north of Ighil, and in the coastal town of Imsouane, about 180km to its west, also fled their homes, fearing a stronger quake, according to witnesses.
“We heard screams at the time of the tremor,” a resident of Essaouira, 200km west of Marrakech, said by phone. “People are in the squares, in the cafes, preferring to sleep outside. Pieces of facades have fallen.”
Some videos shared on social media appeared to show at least one building collapsing and rubble in the streets. Others showed people running out of a shopping centre, restaurants and apartment buildings and congregating outside.
Death toll has now reached 632 – state media
Grim news coming out of Morocco as state TV, citing a government minister, reports the number of people killed in the earthquake has now reached 632, with a further 329 injured.
Which areas have been affected by the earthquake?
As we mentioned earlier, Morocco’s geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas.
The impact, however, has been felt as far afield as Portugal and Algeria.
Ighil, a mountainous area with small farming villages, is about 70km (40 miles) south-west of Marrakech.
Here are some of the latest images coming through from Marrakesh, where some buildings have collapsed in the old city, a Unesco world heritage site.
In Marrakech, some houses in the tightly packed old city have collapsed and people have been working by hand to remove debris while they waited for heavy equipment, one resident said.
Footage of the medieval city wall showed big cracks in one section and parts that had fallen, with rubble lying on the street.
Another Marrakech resident said he saw ambulances coming out of the old town and many building facades damaged.
People were frightened and were staying outside in case of another quake, he added.
How powerful was the earthquake?
Morocco’s geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2.
The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5km (11.5 miles).
Hundreds killed as earthquake hits Morocco
A powerful earthquake centred in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains killed hundreds of people, the government said, as collapsed buildings and people fled their shuddering homes in several cities.
Residents of Marrakech, the nearest major city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, a Unesco world heritage site, and local television showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars after the quake struck at 11.11pm on Friday.
Morocco’s interior ministry said early on Saturday that at least 296 people died in the provinces near the quake centre. Additionally, 153 injured people were sent to hospitals for treatment. The ministry wrote that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns.
A local official said most deaths were in mountainous areas that were hard to reach.
We’ll bring you the latest updates from this story.
