A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco on Friday night just after 11pm local time. It is the deadliest earthquake to hit the North African country in decades according to the US Geological Survey. The epicenter was in the High Atlas Mountains, which is about 72 Kilometres (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech, a popular city of about 840,000 people. Footage on social media shows tremors being felt and people running into the streets as well as buildings shaking and tumbling down. There were also preliminary reports of ‘earthquake lights’ like the one seen in videos captured in Morocco before the earthquake hit.
This earthquake has killed more than 2,000 people and has left destruction in its wake. It has destroyed thousands of homes, leaving many sleeping on the streets for a sixth night. Most of the dead were in the mountainous Al Haouz region near the mountains ‘buried’ by falling debris, the government said. The government declared a three days of mourning with the national flags flown at half-mast.
Leading world bodies have expressed condolences and offered their support for Morocco after the devastating outcome. A huge rescue operation was underway, with teams from Spain, Britain and Qatar assisting the Moroccan military — but hope is fading of finding survivors with an indication of many months if not years of response, said by the IFRC’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. This is because roads are blocked with debris and the mountainous terrain is hindering rescuers.
The search for survivors continues to date with organizations on the ground responding to the disaster. You can support relief efforts here.