A powerful earthquake centred in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains killed hundreds of people, the government said, as collapsed buildings and people fled their shuddering homes in several cities.
Morocco’s geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2. The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5km .Ighil, a mountainous area with small farming villages, is about 70km south-west of Marrakech. The quake struck just after 11pm.
Another Marrakech resident, Brahim Himmi, said he saw ambulances coming out of the old town and many building facades damaged. People were frightened and were staying outside in case of another quake, he said.Photograph: Jalal Morchidi/EPA Some videos shared on social media appeared to show at least one building collapsing and rubble in the streets. Others showed people running out of a shopping centre, restaurants and apartment buildings and congregating outside.The US Geological Survey said the region’s population lived in “structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking”.
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