Following the earthquake in Morocco, the worst damage was said to be in the Atlas Mountain surrounding Marrakesh, but also this ancient city was attacked. Many tourists were sleeping outside to be safe.
The earthquake was said to be scary, with people reported to be hiding in cupboards for shelter. One tourist, from Russia, reported from Marrakesh where he was on holiday attending a celebration in a nightclub wrote on social media: ‘We didn’t notice much, but the celebration went on.’
Following the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco’s High Atlas mountains on Friday, the death toll has risen to at least 296 people. The powerful tremor not only claimed numerous lives but also caused widespread destruction, reducing buildings to rubble and leaving residents of major cities in a state of panic as they fled their homes.
In the aftermath of this catastrophic event, two additional smaller quakes were reported, further adding to the region’s instability. As a precautionary measure, one hotel in Marrakech took swift action, evacuating all of its guests to ensure their safety amidst the ongoing aftershocks.
However, some houses in the tightly packed old city had collapsed and people were working hard by hand to remove debris while they waited for heavy equipment. The famous city wall, a main tourist centre, showed big cracks in one section and parts that had fallen, with rubble lying on the street, with many buildings in the old town and many building facades being damaged.
Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London, said: “The problem is that where destructive earthquakes are rare, buildings are simply not constructed robustly enough to cope with strong ground shaking, so many collapse, resulting in high casualties.
“I would expect the final death toll to climb into the thousands once more is known. As with any big quake, aftershocks are likely, which will lead to further casualties and hinder search and rescue.”
World leaders offered to send in aid or rescue crews as condolences poured in from countries around Europe, the Middle East and a Group of 20 summit in India. The president of Turkey, which lost tens of thousands of people in a massive earthquake earlier this year, was among those proposing assistance.
France and Germany, with large populations of people of Moroccan origin, also offered to help. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11:11 p.m. (2211 GMT), with shaking that lasted several seconds. The U.S. agency reported a magnitude 4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.
The collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates occurred at a relatively shallow depth, which makes a quake more dangerous. Earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa. Lahcen Mhanni, Head of the Seismic Monitoring and Warning Department at the National Institute of Geophysics, said that the earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the region.
In 1960, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near the Moroccan city of Agadir and caused thousands of deaths. That quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors.
In 2004, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake near the Mediterranean coastal city of Al Hoceima left more than 600 dead. 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 Defence agency, which oversees emergency response.
