Morocco quake: Over 800 people killed, historic buildings in Marrakech damaged

A rare powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night killing more than 800 people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of MarrakechThe toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled to reach the remote areas hit hardestPeople woken by the quake ran into the streets in terror and disbelief State television showed people clustered in the streets of Marrakech late at night afraid to go back inside buildings that might still be unstableA man said he was visiting a nearby apartment when dishes and wall hangings began raining down and people were knocked off their feet and chairs A woman described fleeing her house after an intense vibrationA man holding a child said he was jarred awake in bed by the shakingEmergency workers looked for survivors in the rubble of buildings their reflective yellow vests glowing in the dark A hole gaped in the side of a home and a car was nearly buried by the chunks of a collapsed building in other images broadcast by local mediaIn Marrakech the famous Koutoubia Mosque built in the 12th century suffered damage but the extent was not immediately clear Its 69meter 226foot minaret is known as the roof of MarrakechMoroccans also posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city a UNESCO World Heritage siteAt least 820 people died mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the quakes epicenter and another 672 people were injured Moroccos Interior Ministry reported Saturday morning Of the injured the ministry wrote 205 were seriously hurtThe head of a town near the earthquakes epicenter told Moroccan news site 2M that several homes in nearby towns had partly or totally collapsed and electricity and roads were cut off in some placesAbderrahim Ait Daoud head of the town of Talat NYaaqoub said authorities are working to clear roads in Al Haouz Province to allow passage for ambulances and aid to populations affected but said large distances between mountain villages mean it will take time to learn the extent of the damageAl Haouz is known for scenic villages and valleys tucked in the High Atlas and Amazigh villages built into mountainsidesThe Moroccan military and emergency services mobilised aid efforts to the areas hit by damages but roads leading to the mountain region around the epicenter were jammed with vehicles and blocked with collapsed rocks slowing rescue efforts Trucks loaded with blankets camp cots and lighting equipment were trying to region that hardhit area the official news agency MAP reportedOn the steep and winding switchbacks from Marrakech to Al Haouz ambulances with sirens blaring and honking cars veered around piles of Marslike red rock that had tumbled from the mountainside and blocked the road Red Cross workers tried to clear a boulder blocking the twolane highwayLater Saturday morning in Marrakech ambulances and motorcycles whirred by the edge of the old city where business as usual mostly resumed Saturday morning Tourists and passersby navigated roadblocks and snapped photos of sections of the clay ochre wall that had cracked spilling fragments and dust onto the sidewalk and streetWorld leaders offered to send in aid or rescue crews as condolences poured in from countries around Europe a Group of 20 summit in India countries around Europe the Mideast and beyondTurkiyes president whose country lost tens of thousands of people in a massive earthquake earlier this year was among those proposing assistance France and Germany with large populations of people with Moroccan origins also offered to help And the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia expressed support for MoroccansThe Moroccan government has not formally asked for help a step required in order for outside rescue crews to be brought inThe US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 68 when it hit at 1111 pm 2211 GMT with shaking that lasted several seconds The US agency reported a magnitude49 aftershock hit 19 minutes laterThe epicenter of Fridays tremor was near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province roughly 70 kilometers 435 miles south of MarrakechThe USGS said the epicenter was 18 kilometers 11 miles below the Earths surface while Moroccos seismic agency put it at 11 kilometers 7 miles down Such shallow quakes are more dangerousInitial reports suggest damages and deaths were severe throughout the MarrakechSafi region which more than 45 million people call home according to state figuresEarthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa Lahcen Mhanni Head of the Seismic Monitoring and Warning Department at the National Institute of Geophysics told 2M TV that the earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the mountain regionIn 1960 a magnitude 58 tremor struck near the Moroccan city of Agadir and caused thousands of deathsThe Agadir quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco but many buildings especially rural homes are not built to withstand such tremorsIn 2004 a 64 magnitude earthquake near the Mediterranean coastal city of Al Hoceima left more than 600 deadFridays quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algerias Civil Defence agency which oversees emergency responseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever