A 6.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Morocco and five people are believed to have died Earthquake news

story development,

The earthquake occurred late Friday evening, and its epicenter was 75 kilometers west of the city of Marrakesh, the main economic center.

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook Morocco, sending pulsations from the city of Rabat in the north to Sidi Ifni in the south and beyond.

Al Arabiya news channel reported that at least five people were killed. The authorities have not yet confirmed the death toll.

the United States Geological Survey The US Geological Survey estimates that the epicenter occurred near the Oukaimeden ski resort in the Atlas Mountains, about 75 kilometers (44 miles) from Marrakesh, the country’s fourth-largest city.

The earthquake occurred shortly after 11 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT) on Friday evening, according to the US Geological Survey.

The full extent of the destruction was not immediately known. But videos and photos circulated on social media showed clouds of dust and piles of rubble, as walls collapsed under the force of the quake.

last supports It depicts shocked residents running for safety, out of local buildings and into the street.

🇲🇦🏛️| Renovated two years ago, the Kasbah of Agadir Oufella began to collapse after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. pic.twitter.com/HgMkKW5oDo

– Moroccan Intelligence (@MoroccoIntel) September 9, 2023

A Marrakesh resident, Ibrahim Himi, told Reuters news agency that he spotted ambulances leaving the city’s historic old town. He also said that the facades of the buildings were damaged due to ground shaking.

“There is not much damage, more panic. “We heard screaming at the time of the earthquake,” an Essaouira resident told AFP. “People in the squares, in cafes, prefer to sleep outside.”

While earthquakes in the area are “uncommon but not unexpected,” an earthquake of this size has not been seen in the area in more than 120 years.

“Since 1900, there have been no M6 earthquakes [magnitude 6] or larger within 500 km of this earthquake, and only 9M5 [magnitude 5] The US Geological Survey said on its website.

The agency added that most of those previous earthquakes occurred in the east direction as well.

Friday evening’s earthquake was relatively shallow, occurring at a depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.5 miles). The US Geological Survey explained that the “reverse oblique fault” in the Atlas Mountains was the cause of the earthquake.

The last major earthquake to hit Morocco occurred in 2004, killing more than 600 people. This earthquake, called the Al Hoceima earthquake, occurred on the border of an active plate on the northern coast of the country, on the western border of the Mediterranean Sea. Its magnitude reached 6.3.

A larger earthquake struck neighboring Algeria in 1980. This earthquake, known as the Idols Earthquake, had a magnitude of 7.3, the strongest seismic activity the region had seen in centuries. It also originated in the Atlas Mountain range and flattened homes, leaving 300,000 people on the streets and more than 2,600 dead.

Following Friday’s earthquake, director of the Moroccan National Institute of Geophysics, Nasser Jabour, told Le Matin newspaper that the possibility of aftershocks is small.