Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 1,000 people

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP)  A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco, killing more than 1,000 people with the toll expected to rise as rescuers struggled Saturday to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote areas hit hardest.

The magnitude-6.8 quake, the biggest to hit the North African country in 120 years, sent people fleeing their homes in terror and disbelief late Friday. One man said dishes and wall hangings began raining down, and people were knocked off their feet. The enormity of the destruction came into view in the daylight.

At least 1,037 people died, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the quake's epicentre, and another 1,204 people were injured, Morocco's Interior Ministry reported Saturday morning. Of the injured, the ministry wrote, 721 were in critical condition.

The quake brought down walls made from stone and masonry not designed to withstand quakes, covering whole communities with rubble and leaving resident picking their way precariously through remains. Rescuers worked through the night to find survivors buried in the dusty ruins.

A tent typically used for celebrations was being erected for shelter in the square of the impoverished mountain community of Moulay Brahim, where homes made of clay and brick were largely left uninhabitable.

Fathers sobbed into phones telling loved ones about losing their children. Bodies covered with blankets lay in the health centre next to a mosque as doctors pulled shards from people's feet and treated surface wounds.

"There's nothing to do but pray," said Hamza Lamghani, who lost five of his closest friends.

People could be seen on state TV clustering in the streets of historic Marrakech, afraid to go back inside buildings that might still be unstable. Many wrapped themselves in blankets as they tried to sleep outside.

Marrakech's famous Koutoubia Mosque, built in the 12th century, was damaged, but the extent was not immediately clear. Its 69-meter (226-foot) minaret is known as the "roof of Marrakech." Moroccans also posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

"The problem is that where destructive earthquakes are rare, buildings are simply not constructed robustly enough to cope with strong ground shaking, so many collapse, resulting in high casualties," said Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London. "I would expect the final death toll to climb into the thousands once more is known. As with any big quake, aftershocks are likely, which will lead to further casualties and hinder search and rescue."

In a sign of the huge scale of the disaster, Morocco's King Mohammed VI ordered the armed forces to mobilise air and land assets, specialised search and rescue teams and a surgical field hospital, according to a statement from the military. But despite an outpouring of offers of help from around the world, the Moroccan government had not formally asked for assistance, a step required before outside rescue crews could deploy.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit, with shaking that lasted several seconds. The US agency reported a magnitude 4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later. The collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates occurred at a relatively shallow depth, which makes a quake more dangerous.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa. Lahcen Mhanni, Head of the Seismic Monitoring and Warning Department at the National Institute of Geophysics, told 2M TV that the earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the region.

In 1960, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near the Moroccan city of Agadir and caused thousands of deaths. That quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors.

In 2004, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake near the Mediterranean coastal city of Al Hoceima left more than 600 dead.

Friday's quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria's Civil Defense agency, which oversees emergency response.

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