Earthquake in Morocco kills at least 820 people, 672 injured

Morocco’s government said that 632 died and 329 were injured after a powerful quake, more than doubling the earlier toll, reports AP. Moroccans posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in historic Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage site, damaged.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11:11 pm, with shaking that lasted several seconds. Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale. The US agency reported a magnitude 4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.

Videos circulating on social media showed buildings collapsing and tourists evacuating restaurants. Marrakech was the closest major city to the epicentre where a UNESCO world heritage site and some other buildings were damaged.

Footage of the medieval city wall showed big cracks in one section and parts that had fallen, with rubble lying on the street.

USGS said that “the population in this region lives in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking.”

Many people, including women and children, stayed out in the streets during the night and did not return to concrete buildings as they were worried about aftershocks and other reverberations that could cause their homes to sway.

According to local media, the earthquake was the strongest to ever hit the country.