Chaos in Morocco tourist town as powerful quake kills more than 2100

A popular tourist town has been rocked by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake leaving more than 1300 dead.

The huge earthquake that hit Morocco on Friday has now killed more than 2100 people and injured at least another 2400, many of them critically.

A total of 2122 people have now been confirmed dead, and more than 2400 people have been injured, many seriously, according to official figures updated late on Sunday.

Terrified residents of Marrakesh reported “unbearable” screams followed the 6.8-magnitude tremor.

A woman reacts standing in front of her earthquake-damaged house in the old city in Marrakesh on September 9. Picture: Fadel Senna/AFP

More than one-third of the dead are in Al-Haouz, the epicentre, and Taroudant provinces.

The Interior Ministry said the number constituted a preliminary death toll, while a local official said most of the deaths were in mountain areas that were hard to reach.

People flee for their lives as a building collapses in Morocco. Picture: X

The quake struck 72 kilometres southwest of tourist hotspot Marrakesh at a depth of 18.5 kilometres at 11:11pm (2211 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

It was focused under the High Atlas Mountains, in an area known as Ighil, which is a region of small farming villages.

It was also near Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa and Oukaimeden, a popular Moroccan ski resort.

Rescue workers search for survivors in a collapsed house in Moulay Brahim, Al Haouz province, on September 9, 2023, after an earthquake. Picture: Fadel Senna/AFP

“We felt a very violent tremor, and I realised it was an earthquake,” Abdelhak El Amrani, a 33-year-old in Marrakesh, told AFP by telephone.

“I could see buildings moving. We don’t necessarily have the reflexes for this type of situation. Then I went outside and there were a lot of people there. People were all in shock and panic. The children were crying and the parents were distraught.”

Residents take shelter outside at a square following an earthquake in Marrakesh on September 9, 2023 after a 6.8-magnitude quake. Picture: Fadel Senna/AFP

“The power went out for 10 minutes, and so did the (telephone) network, but then it came back on. Everyone decided to stay outside,” he added.

Fayssal Badour, another Marrakesh resident, told AFP he was driving when the earthquake hit.

“I stopped and realised what a disaster it was. It was very serious, as if a river had burst its banks. The screaming and crying was unbearable,” he said.

Hospitals in Marrakesh reportedly saw a “massive influx” of injured people.

In the town of Al-Haouz, near the epicentre of the quake, a family was trapped in the rubble after their house collapsed, local media reported.

The 6.8-magnitude quake stuck near the popular tourist town of Marrakesh. Picture: X

The earthquake was also felt in the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira.

“There’s not too much damage, more panic. We heard screams at the time of the tremor,” a resident of Essaouira, 200 kilometres west of Marrakesh, told AFP.

“People are in the squares, in the cafes, preferring to sleep outside. Pieces of facades have fallen.”

The US Geological Survey’s (USGS) PAGER system, which provides preliminary assessments on the impact of earthquakes, issued an orange alert for economic losses, estimating significant damage is likely.

Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national-level response, according to the US government agency.

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

Stunned residents assess the damage following the quake which has killed 296 people. Picture: X

Internet connectivity was disrupted in Marrakesh due to power cuts, according to global internet monitor NetBlocks.

Moroccan media reported it was the most powerful earthquake to hit the country to date.

The earthquake was also felt in neighbouring Algeria, where the Algerian Civil Defence said it had not caused any damage or casualties.

In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when a quake hit Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco.

The 1980, the 7.3-magnitude El Asnam earthquake in neighbouring Algeria was one of the largest and most destructive earthquakes in recent history. It killed 2,500 people and left at least 300,000 homeless.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered condolences, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained” by news of the quake.

Originally published as Chaos in Morocco tourist town as powerful quake kills more than 2100