More than 820 people have died after a powerful earthquake struck central Morocco, according to the country’s interior ministry.
The quake – measuring magnitude 6.8 – sent people rushing into the streets in Marrakesh and other cities.
Many of the deaths were said to be in hard-to-reach mountain areas – and at least 153 people were injured.
It struck just after 23:00 local time, at a relatively shallow depth 71km (44 miles)southwestt of Marrakesh, according to the US Geological Survey.
Hundreds of people are injured, including more than 200 in a serious condition, but rescuers will still be trying to access remote villages in the Atlas Mountains where the quake’s epicentre was.
Joanna Faure Walker, professor of earthquake geology at University College London, said: “When an earthquake occurs at night (it hit at just gone 11pm), people can be particularly vulnerable.
“Getting out of their homes and navigating rubble and debris in the dark adds to risk of injury and getting trapped.
“The early death toll figures are likely to increase significantly as early information is limited, and rescue efforts are ongoing.”
Prof Walker’s colleague Bill McGuire, professor of geophysical and climate hazards, said the number of dead will likely “climb into the thousands once more is known”.
“Where destructive earthquakes are rare, buildings are simply not constructed robustly enough to cope with strong ground shaking, so many collapse resulting in high casualties,” he said.
Morocco’s deadliest ever quake, near the city of Agadir in 1960, was so destructive it led to changes to the country’s construction rules (see 10.06 post).
But many buildings – especially rural homes like those worst hit on Friday night – are still not built to withstand such tremors.
