Powerful earthquake in Morocco injures, kills over one thousand

A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing more than 1,000 people and destroying buildings in the historic city of Marrakech.

More than 1,000 people have been killed and more than 1,200 injured in an earthquake near Marrakech that flattened homes and devastated mountain villages Friday night.

The Interior Ministry said Saturday afternoon that the death toll had reached 1,037, with 1,204 injured, 721 of them critically. The initial number of deaths was reported at around 800 on Friday. The casualty toll was expected to climb as rescuers reached remote areas and dug through rubble for survivors or bodies.

The rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late at night, damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. But the full toll was not known as rescuers struggled to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages hit hardest.

People woken by the quake ran into the streets in terror and disbelief. A man visiting a nearby apartment said dishes and wall hangings began raining down, and people were knocked off their feet and chairs. A woman described fleeing her house after an “intense vibration.” A man holding a child said he was jarred awake in bed by the shaking.

State television showed people clustered in the streets of Marrakech, afraid to go back inside buildings that might still be unstable. Many wrapped themselves in blankets as they tried to sleep outside.

The magnitude 6.8 quake was the hardest to hit Morocco in 120 years, and it toppled buildings and walls in ancient cities made from stone and masonry not designed to withstand quakes.

“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,” said Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London. “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.”

In a sign of the huge scale of the disaster, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered the armed forces to mobilize air and land assets, specialized search and rescue teams and a surgical field hospital, according to a statement from the military. But despite an outpouring of offers of help from around the world, the Moroccan government had not formally asked for assistance, a step required before outside rescue crews could deploy.