6.8-magnitude earthquake shakes Morocco, causing panic and damage. USGS issues alerts as people flee homes. Morocco’s seismic vulnerability highlighted
Nearly 300 people were killed after a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake rattled Morocco on Friday night. “According to a provisional report, the earthquake killed 296 people in the provinces and municipalities of Al-Haouz, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant,” Morocco’s interior ministry said in a statement. Another 153 people were injured, it added.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that this was the strongest tremor to hit that part of the North African nation in more than a century. The quake hit 71 kilometres southwest of Marrakesh at a depth of 18.5 kilometers at 11:11 pm (2211 GMT). It sent debris flying into narrow alleyways and items tumbling off shelves, according to video posted on social media. The earthquake was also felt in the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira.
“We heard screams at the time of the tremor,” a resident of Essaouira, 200 km west of Marrakech, told AFP by telephone. “People are in the squares, in the cafes, preferring to sleep outside. Pieces of facades have fallen”.
USGS’s PAGER system, which provides preliminary assessments on the impact of earthquakes, issued an orange alert for economic losses, estimating significant damage is likely, and a yellow alert for shaking-related fatalities, indicating some casualties are possible.
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Significant damage is likely and the disaster is potentially widespread, CNN reported citing USGS. It notes that that many people in the area reside in structures that are “highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking”. A Marrakech resident told Reuters that he saw ambulances coming out of the old town and that many building facades were damaged. As per the residents, people were frightened and were staying outside in case of another quake.
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces said that residents were still vulnerable to aftershocks. “We remind you of the need to exercise caution and take safety measures due to the risk of aftershocks,” the military wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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USGS said that “the population in this region lives in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking.” There were no immediate reports of casualties. Internet connectivity was disrupted in Marrakesh due to power cuts in the region, according to global internet monitor NetBlocks.
Morocco experiences frequent earthquakes in its northern region due to its position between the African and Eurasian plates. In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when a quake hit Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco.
The 1980, 7.3-magnitude El Asnam earthquake in neighbouring Algeria was one of the largest and most destructive earthquakes in recent history. It killed 2,500 people and left at least 300,000 homeless.
(With agency inputs)
