Morocco declared three days of mourning after a massive earthquake struck the country late Friday night, killing more than 2,000 people and damaging historic buildings in the north African nation of 37 million. The earthquake affected an area stretching from Marrakesh, a top destination for international travelers, all the way to the Atlas mountains.
Morocco’s interior ministry said Saturday that at least 2,012 people had perished and more than 2,059 others were injured, around 1,404 of them critically, in the 6.8 magnitude tremor, the most powerful to have hit the country in decades.
According to initial reports, more than half of the fatalities from the earthquake were in an area south of Marrakesh. Experts speaking to the UK’s Sky News said the death toll could climb “to the thousands.”
Hossam Elsharkawi, regional director at the Red Cross for MENA, told Germany’s Deutschwelle that it could take up to 48 hours to get aid to remote mountain villages because of damage to roads. He called efforts “a race against time” as cold sets in at high altitudes.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered his armed forces to mobilize land and air assets, special search and rescue teams and to set up a surgical field hospital, the Associated Press reported.
The king chaired a meeting to discuss the tragedy where he called for accommodation, food and all other basic needs be made available for those in need, particularly orphans and the vulnerable.
A local official cited by the UK’s Guardian newspaper said most deaths were in mountainous areas that were hard to access.
Moroccan state television showed scenes of petrified citizens huddling outdoors fearing aftershocks as emergency workers worked against the clock to retrieve survivors. In Marrakech citizens were exhorted to donate blood with many responding to the appeal, local officials said.
Gambia national soccer coach Tom Saintfiet, who was with his team for Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo, told the BBC he thought a plane had crashed into his hotel in Marrakesh when the earthquake struck. “It was only 30 seconds but it felt endless. I never in my life saw a building moving like that,” he said.
The United States Geological survey said the quake hit at 11:11 pm local time (22.11 GMT) on Friday and that its epicenter — in Ighil — was close to the earth’s surface. This makes it a “shallow” quake, which are among the deadliest.
According to initial reports, the fabled ancient walls of Marrakesh that enclose the medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a historic mosque by the Jemaa al-Fnaa square were damaged during the earthquake
The last big earthquake to strike Morocco was in 2004 in the northern Rif mountains. More than 600 people died in that tremor.
