Sept. 9 (Washington): An official has confirmed that at least 296 people were killed in Friday night’s tremendous earthquake that struck Morocco.
There are no confirmed death toll reports available at this time.
The epicentre was located 71 km (44 miles) southwest of Marrakesh at 11:11 PM local time (2211 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey.
Abdelhak El Amrani, 33, of Marrakesh, told AFP over the phone that he and his family “felt a very violent tremor” and that they eventually concluded it was an earthquake.
The structures around me were swaying. We may lack the innate responses required to deal with an emergency of this kind. Then I ventured outdoors, where I found a throng of people. There was widespread dismay and terror. Both the kids and their parents were inconsolable.
“The electricity and the (telephone) network were down for about 10 minutes, but then they both came back on. “Everyone settled on staying outside,” he continued.
Another local of Marrakesh, Fayssal Badour, told AFP that he was in his car when the tremor occurred.
“I paused and saw what a catastrophe it was. It was quite serious, like a torrent that had just overflowed its banks. He complained that the noise level was too high due to all the sobbing.
A “massive influx” of wounded people was brought to Marrakesh’s hospitals, so the news says.
Local media stated that a family was buried under their collapsed home in the village of Al-Haouz, not far from the core of the quake.
Serious harm is probable.
Rabat, Casablanca, and Essaouira, all located on the coast, felt the tremors as well.
Not a lot of damage, mostly just chaos. A local of Essaouira, located around 200 km west of Marrakesh, told AFP that they heard screaming during the earthquake.
People love to sleep in the open air and may be found in plazas and cafés. Many of the façades have collapsed.
An orange signal was issued for economic losses by the USGS’s PAGER system, meaning that severe damage is expected, while a yellow alert was issued for deaths due to shaking, suggesting that some fatalities are anticipated.
The US government agency claims that previous catastrophes of similar severity needed a reaction on a regional or national scale.
The United States Geological Survey has reported that “the population in this region lives in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking.”
According to worldwide internet watchdog NetBlocks, power outages in Marrakesh hampered internet service.
The Moroccan media said that this earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in their nation.
In bordering Algeria, where it was felt as well, the Algerian Civil Defence reported no damage or injuries.
The 2004 earthquake in Al Hoceima, northern Morocco, killed at least 628 people and wounded 926.
One of the greatest and most damaging earthquakes in recent history was the 7.3-magnitude El Asnam earthquake that struck adjacent Algeria in 1980. At least 2,500 lives were lost, and 300,000 were displaced.
