Powerful earthquake hits Morocco, scale of damage unclear

A strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Morocco tumbled buildings and despatched folks fleeing their properties in a number of cities late on Friday, residents stated, however the scale of injury nearest the epicentre within the Excessive Atlas mountains was not instantly clear.

Residents of Marrakech, the closest main metropolis to the epicentre, stated some buildings had collapsed. Pan-Arab al-Arabiya information channel reported that 5 folks have been killed from one household, citing unnamed native sources.
The quake’s epicenter was at a comparatively shallow depth of 18.5 km and occurred about 72 km (44 miles) southwest of Marrakech and 56 km west of the city of Oukaimeden simply after 11 p.m. native time (2200 GMT), in line with the US Geological Survey.

The epicentre’s space within the Excessive Atlas Mountains, referred to as Ighil, is a area of small farming villages.

There was no instant remark from native emergency or authorities officers on Moroccan media and Reuters couldn’t instantly attain any for contact.
In Marrakech, some homes within the tightly packed outdated metropolis have collapsed and folks have been working exhausting by hand to take away particles whereas they waited for heavy gear, stated native resident Id Waaziz Hassan.

One other Marrakech resident, Brahim Himmi, stated he noticed ambulances popping out of the outdated city and that many constructing facades have been broken. He stated folks have been frightened and have been staying outdoors in case of one other quake.

Individuals in Rabat, about 350km north of Ighil, and within the coastal city of Imsouane, about 180km to its west, additionally fled their properties, fearing a stronger quake, in line with Reuters witnesses.

Some movies shared on social media, which Reuters couldn’t instantly confirm, appeared to point out at the least one constructing collapsing and rubble within the streets.

Others confirmed folks working out of a shopping mall, eating places and house buildings and congregating outdoors.

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