A powerful earthquake struck Morocco’s High Atlas mountains late on Friday, killing at least 632 people, destroying buildings and sending residents of major cities rushing from their homes, state television reported.
The Interior Ministry urged calm, saying in its televised statement on the death toll that the quake had hit the provinces of Al Haouz, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant. 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 18.5 km .
The United Nations stood ready to help the Moroccan government in “its efforts to assist the impacted population”, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.In Marrakech, some houses in the tightly packed old city had collapsed and people were working hard by hand to remove debris while they waited for heavy equipment, said resident Id Waaziz Hassan.
Another woman there, Dalila Fahem, said there were cracks in her house and damage to her furniture. “Fortunately I hadn’t gone to sleep yet,” she said.
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