The powerful earthquake damaged buildings in major cities and sent panicked people pouring into streets and alleyways from the capital Rabat to Marrakech, the county’s most visited tourist destination and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Moroccans posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust, and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in Marrakech damaged. Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in the city as throbbing club music played.
The USGS said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11:11 p.m., with shaking that lasted several seconds. Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale. The U.S. agency reported a magnitude-4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.
The survey said the temblor struck at an oblique-reverse fault, which had one plate fall away almost like a landslide.
Variations in early measurements are common, although either reading would be Morocco’s strongest in years. Though earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near Agadir and caused thousands of deaths in 1960.
“Earthquakes are not common in the area, but [this was] not unexpected,” said U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Anna Andreyev, who said the quake is the largest since 1900.
She added, “Based on the depth and the magnitude, we can expect significant damage.”
The USGS said the epicenter was in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountain range, about 46 miles southeast of Marrakech. It was also near Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa and Oukaimeden, a popular Moroccan ski resort.
The USGS said the epicenter was 11 miles below the Earth’s surface, while Morocco’s seismic agency put it at 5 miles down. The temblor involved movement of the Africa plate about 341 miles south of its convergence with the Eurasian plate, the survey said.
Neither Moroccan officials nor MAP, Morocco’s official news agency, had published any information about casualties or damages as of early Saturday. Government officials typically use the agency to communicate information about important matters.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
