Powerful earthquake in Morocco kills more than 600 people
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[September 09, 2023]
By Ahmed Eljechtimi
MARRAKECH, Morocco (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake in Morocco has
killed more than 600 people and injured hundreds more, destroying
buildings and sending residents of major cities rushing from their homes
in the country's deadliest tremor since at least 2004.
The magnitude 7.2 quake struck in Morocco's High Atlas mountains late on
Friday night. A local official said most deaths were in mountain areas
that were hard to reach. State media said 632 people had been killed and
another 329 injured, citing an updated initial toll from the Interior
Ministry.
The quake damaged buildings in Marrakech, the nearest big city to the
epicenter, where residents spent the night in the open, afraid to go
home.
A mosque minaret had fallen in Jemaa al-Fna Square, the heart of
Marrakech's old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
"We had to run right after the strong quake," said Jaouhari Mohamed, a
resident of the old city, describing desperate scenes as people fled for
safety.
"I still can’t sleep in the house because of the shock and also because
the old town is made up of old houses. If one falls, it will cause
others to collapse," he said.
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Local television showed pictures of rubble lying on smashed cars.
The Interior Ministry urged calm, saying in a televised statement that
the quake had hit the provinces of Al Haouz, Ouarzazate, Marrakech,
Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.
Montasir Itri, a resident of the mountain village of Asni near the
epicenter, said most houses there were damaged. "Our neighbors are under
the rubble and people are working hard to rescue them using available
means in the village," he said.
Further west, near Taroudant, teacher Hamid Afkar said he had fled his
home and felt aftershocks. "The earth shook for about 20 seconds. Doors
opened and shut by themselves as I rushed downstairs from the second
floor," he said.
Morocco's geophysical centre said the quake struck just after 11 p.m.
(2200 GMT) in the Ighil area of the High Atlas.
It was Morocco's deadliest since at least a 2004 tremor in the northern
Rif mountains that killed over 600 people.
Ighil, a mountainous area with small farming villages, is about 70 km
(40 miles) southwest of Marrakech.
Spanish television RTVE reported tremors from the earthquake were felt
in Huelva and Jaen in Andalusia, southern Spain.
The United Nations stood ready to help the Moroccan government in "its
efforts to assist the impacted population", U.N. spokesperson Stephane
Dujarric said in a statement.
Governments around the world expressed solidarity and offered
assistance.
Marrakech is due to host the annual meetings of the International
Monetary Fund and World Bank in early October.
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![](../images/090923PIX/news_g3.jpg)
A general view of damage in the historic city of Marrakech,
following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9, 2023.
REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Sep/09/images/ads/current/graue_lda_ENCLAVE4031preowned_081423.jpg)
MARRAKECH DAMAGE
In Marrakech, some houses in the tightly packed old city had
collapsed and people were working hard by hand to remove debris
while they waited for heavy equipment, said resident Id Waaziz
Hassan.
Footage of the medieval city wall showed big cracks in one section
and parts that had fallen, with rubble lying on the street.
Another Marrakech resident, Brahim Himmi, said he saw ambulances
coming out of the old town and many building facades damaged. He
said people were frightened and were staying outside in case of
another quake.
"The chandelier fell from the ceiling and I ran out. I'm still in
the road with my children and we're scared," said Houda Hafsi, 43,
in Marrakech.
Another woman there, Dalila Fahem, said there were cracks in her
house and damage to her furniture. "Fortunately I hadn't gone to
sleep yet," she said.
The city is due to host the IMF and World Bank in a month's time.
People in the capital city of Rabat, about 350 km north of Ighil,
and in the coastal town of Imsouane, about 180 km to its west, also
fled their homes, fearing a stronger quake, according to Reuters
witnesses.
In Casablanca, some 250 km north of Ighil, people who spent the
night in the streets were too scared to return to their homes.
"The house rocked aggressively, everyone was scared," said resident
Mohamed Taqafi. "I thought it was only my house that was moving
because it's fragile and old. I heard people screaming, everyone
went out of their houses."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Sep/09/images/ads/current/siu_sda_090723.png)
Videos shared on social media of the immediate aftermath of the
quake, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed people
fearfully running out of a shopping centre, restaurants and
apartment buildings and congregating outside.
(Reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi in Rabat; Additional reporting by
Zakia Abdennebi in Rabat, Alexander Cornwell in Imsouane, Ahmed
Tolba in Dubai and Jose Joseph in Bengaluru, Michelle Nichols in New
York; Writing by Angus McDowall and Tom Perry; Editing by William
Mallard, Stephen Coates and Tomasz Janowski)
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