The Most Powerful Earthquake ever recorded in Morocco: The Dead are now 820

World | September 9, 2023, Saturday // 11:58| views

At least 820 are already the victims of the devastating earthquake in Morocco, local authorities said.

Earlier, a warning was issued of expected new, stronger tremors, after last night's powerful earthquake of 6.8 on the Richter scale.

Until now, there are no official data on injured or dead Bulgarian citizens, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced after an inquiry from the National Radio.

Meanwhile, Spain has offered to send rescuers to the affected areas, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said. Albares told reporters at the G20 summit in India that Spain's military emergency unit, as well as its aid agencies and the embassy, were "at the complete disposal of Morocco, of the people of Morocco, to try to relieve this situation and save as many people as possible."

The epicenter of the 6.8-magnitude quake was 72 kilometers southwest of Marrakech at a depth of about 18 kilometers and was felt in Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira, as well as in neighboring Algeria.

"We felt a very strong tremor and I realized it was an earthquake," Abdelhak El Amrani, a 33-year-old man from Marrakech, told AFP by phone.

"I saw the buildings moving. We don't necessarily have reflexes for this type of situation. Then I went outside and there were a lot of people there. Everyone was in shock and panic. The kids were crying and the parents were upset."

"The power went out for 10 minutes and so did the (telephone) network, but then it came back on. Everyone decided to stay outside," he added.

Hospitals in Marrakesh were reported to have seen a "huge influx" of injured people.

The USGS's PAGER system, which provides preliminary estimates of the impact of earthquakes, has issued an orange alert for economic losses, indicating that significant damage is possible, and a yellow alert for quake-related deaths, indicating that some casualties are possible.

The USGS said that "the population in this region lives in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquakes."

Morocco experiences frequent earthquakes in its northern region due to its location between the African and Eurasian plates.

Prayers for Morocco ???????? May Allah help and protect those who are effected and have mercy on everyone ???? pic.twitter.com/wpFyI3C9kE
— Allah Islam Quran (@AllahGreatQuran) September 9, 2023