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Race Against Time in Morocco -Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 2,500
At Least 632 DEAD After Powerful 6.8 Earthquake Rocks Morocco-Streets Reduced to Rubble in Marrakech Region
Powerful Tremors Caused Panic in Marrakech, Casablanca and Rabat and Led to Deaths in Villages Near The Atlas Mountains
BBC 9 SEP 2023
A powerful earthquake centred in Moroccos’ High Atlas mountains killed hundreds of people, the government said, after buildings collapsed and people fled their shuddering homes in several cities and towns.
Residents of Marrakech, the nearest major city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, a Unesco world heritage site, and local television showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars after the quake struck at 11.11pm on Friday.
On Saturday morning, Moroccan television reports raised the death toll to 632, with 329 injured, citing the interior ministry. Earlier, the ministry said there were hundreds of deaths in the provinces near the quake centre. The ministry added that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns.
A local official said most deaths were in mountainous areas that were hard to reach.
“The earth shook for about 20 seconds. Doors opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second floor,” said Hamid Afkir, a teacher in a mountainous area west of the epicentre near Taroudant, adding there had been aftershocks.
Moroccos’ geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2. The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5km (11.5 miles).
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