The latest report from the earthquake which struck Morocco during the night from Friday to Saturday shows 1,305 deaths.
A new toll which could further increase. At least 1,305 people died in the powerful earthquake that struck Morocco overnight from Friday to Saturday, causing enormous damage and sowing panic in Marrakech and several other cities.
At 9 p.m., the earthquake had also left 1,832 injured, “including 1,220 in serious condition”, the Interior Ministry said in a press release, while the previous report showed 1,037 dead.
The kingdom has declared a three-day national mourning, announced the royal cabinet, following a meeting chaired by King Mohammed VI on this earthquake, the most powerful to hit the country to date.
Magnitude 6,8
The 6.8 magnitude earthquake was recorded at 11:11 p.m. local time, according to the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS). The Moroccan Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) measured the magnitude of the earthquake at 7, specifying that the epicenter of the tremor was located in the province of Al-Haouz, southwest of the tourist city of Marrakech. .
More than half of the deaths (694) were recorded in Al-Haouz and Taroudant (347), further south, two mountainous rural areas in the heart of the High Atlas, according to the ministry, reporting the continuation of rescue operations. rescue.
Television channels broadcast aerial images showing entire villages in the Al-Haouz region completely destroyed.
A shock felt in several cities
In addition to Marrakech, the tremor was felt in Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir and Essaouira, causing panic among the population. Many people took to the streets of these cities, fearing the collapse of their homes, according to images posted on social networks.
The regional blood transfusion center in Marrakech called on residents to come to its premises on Saturday to donate blood for the injured.
The Moroccan army deployed “significant human and logistical resources, air and land”, as well as search and rescue teams, and a field hospital in the Al-Haouz region, the news agency reported. Moroccan MAP.
Outpouring of solidarity
The tragedy sparked a surge of solidarity around the world, with several countries, including Israel, France, Spain, Italy and the United States offering their help.
Even neighboring Algeria, with stormy relations with Morocco, announced that it had decided to open its airspace, closed since September 2021, to flights transporting humanitarian aid and the wounded.
The International Red Cross alerted the international community to the importance of aid for Morocco, citing needs for “months or even years”.
A record earthquake
This earthquake is the most powerful recorded in Morocco. On February 24, 2004, an earthquake measuring 6.4 degrees on the Richter scale shook the province of Al Hoceima, 400 km northeast of Rabat, killing 628 people.
And on February 29, 1960, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake destroyed Agadir, on the west coast of the country, and killed nearly 15,000 people, or a third of the city’s population.
With AFP
