The strong earthquake, of magnitude 7, which has left almost 300 dead in Morocco and more than 150 injured, has destroyed buildings and forced the inhabitants of the main cities to hastily abandon their homes.
The residents of Marrakechthe major city closest to the epicenter, said some buildings had collapsed in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old Town, and local television showed images of a collapsed mosque minaret with debris on top of wrecked cars.
Montasir Itriresident in the mountain town of Donkey, near the epicenter, said most houses had been damaged. “Our neighbors are under the rubble and people are working hard to rescue them using the means available in the village,” he said.
Further west, near Taroudant, Professor Hamid Afkar He said he had fled his home and felt the aftershocks. “The ground shook for about 20 seconds. The doors opened and closed on their own as I ran down from the second floor,” she said.
According to the Geophysical Center of Morocco, the earthquake occurred in the area of Ighil, in the High Atlas, and had a magnitude of 7.2 degrees. The US Geological Survey placed the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.8 and said it had occurred in the High Atlas.