According to a recent government assessment, a strong earthquake that slammed Morocco on Friday night and caused extensive damage and fear in Marrakech, a popular tourist destination, and numerous other towns, killed at least 1037 people.
The center of the earthquake, which was registered at 23:11 local time (22:11 GMT), was said to be in the province of Al-Haouz, south-west of the city of Marrakech, a well-liked tourist destination for foreigners, according to the Moroccan Centre for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST).
The earthquake left 820 people dead and 672 injured, including 205 who required immediate medical attention. 632 people had died and 329 had been injured previously.
According to the same source, more than a third of the fatalities (394) were reported in Taroudant (271) and Al-Haouz (394) near the epicentre of the earthquake.
The kingdom has not yet experienced a stronger earthquake than this one.
Images posted by the media, on social media, and by eyewitness show that the earthquake severely damaged a number of communities.
On the renowned Jemaa el-Fna square, the beating centre of Marrakech, images showed a portion of a minaret collapsing, injuring two people.
Hundreds of people flocked to the city’s famous square to spend the night, according to an AFP correspondent, out of concern for aftershocks. Others were sleeping on the ground while some had blankets.
“We were walking around Jemaa el-Fna when the earth started to shake. We’re safe and sound, but I’m still in shock. At least ten members of my family died in Ijoukak (rural commune of Al-Haouz, editor’s note). I can’t believe it, because no more than two days ago I was with them”, Houda Outassaf, a resident of the town she met in the square, told AFP.
In a statement on X (previously Twitter), French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “shocked” by the incidents and offered France’s assistance.
In addition, Germany, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia extended their sympathies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “gave instructions (…) to provide all necessary assistance to the Moroccan people”, referring to “preparations to send an aid team to the area”, according to a statement from his office.
The head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, expressed Italy’s “willingness to support Morocco in this emergency situation”.
Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his sympathies to Morocco and said he was “extremely saddened by the loss of life”.
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the province of Al Hoceima, 400 km north-east of Rabat, on February 24, 2004, left 628 people dead.
And on February 29, 1960, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck the country’s west coast completely devastated the city of Agadir, killing roughly 15,000 people—or one-third of its populace.
