Earthquake in Morocco kills more than 1,000

September 09, 2023 09:10 AM

 | Updated Sep 09, 2023, 10:27 AM

The most powerful earthquake in 120 years hit Morocco Friday night, killing more than 1,000 people as rescuers continued to dig through rubble across the countryside.

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck shortly after 11 p.m on Friday and was felt across five provinces along the Atlas Mountain range, with most of the damage hitting the historic city of Marrakech, the tourist capital of the North African country.

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Morocco Earthquake
People take shelter and check for news on their mobile phones after an earthquake in Rabat, Morocco, late Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP


Experts predict that the death toll of the disaster will mount to the thousands in Marrakech as the medieval city was not designed to sustain such events.

“The problem is that where destructive earthquakes are rare, buildings are simply not constructed robustly enough to cope with strong ground shaking, so many collapses resulting in high casualties,” Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London, told NPR.

Morocco Earthquake
People take shelter after an earthquake in Marrakech, Morocco, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing hundreds of people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. (AP Photo)

AP


The famous Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, built in the 12th century and a UNESCO World Heritage site, sustained damage, the extent of which is unclear at the time of this report.

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Morocco’s interior minister reported that, on top of the current death toll, 627 people have been injured, with 205 seriously hurt.

The most devastating seismic activity in recent Moroccan history was in 1960, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake killed approximately 12,000 people.

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