Marrakech | Thousands of Moroccans slept outdoors for another night after the worst earthquake in a century flattened homes across central and southern parts of the country, killing at least 2000 people and setting off a huge rescue effort in remote mountain areas.

The extent of the damage and number of casualties after Friday’s (Saturday AEST) magnitude 6.8 earthquake remained unclear because the hardest-hit communities were in the Atlas Mountains, where the few roads appeared to be blocked by debris, and where phone services and electricity had been knocked out.