FRACTUREBREAK,
The earthquake happened late Friday evening. The epicenter was 72 kilometers west of Marrekesh, an important economic center.
A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake has rocked Morocco, sending pulses from the city of Rabat in the north to Sidi Ifni in the south and beyond.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that the quake’s epicenter was near the Oukaïmedene ski resort in the Atlas Mountains, about 75 kilometers (44 miles) from Marrakech, the country’s fourth-largest city.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. But videos and images shared on social media showed clouds of dust and piles of rubble as walls gave way under the force of the quake.
Other Posts Shown are shocked local residents running out of local buildings into the street for safety reasons.
The earthquake happened just after 11 p.m. local time (10:00 p.m. GMT), according to the USGS.
While earthquakes in the region are “unusual but not unexpected,” an earthquake of this magnitude has not been observed in the region for over 120 years.
“There has not been an M6 earthquake since 1900 [magnitude 6] or greater within 500 km of this earthquake and only 9 M5 [magnitude 5] and larger,” the USGS said on its website.
Most of these earlier earthquakes also occurred farther east, the agency added.
Friday night’s earthquake was relatively shallow and struck at a depth of 18.5 km (11.5 miles). The USGS stated that “oblique reversal faults” in the Atlas Mountains were the cause of the quake.
🚨 URGENT
The premiere videos of the earthquake victims are now released! 😥🇲🇦
— TFT MOROCCO (@TFT_Morocco) September 8, 2023
This is breaking news. More details to come.