More than 2100 people have been killed after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake. Time is now running out for those still missing, as rescue crews work around the clock to look for survivors. Video / NZ Herald
Kiwis in Morocco have recounted the horror of a deadly late-night earthquake, hearing “screaming and shrieking” and long, slow rumbling.
Bay of Plenty man Rob Young ducked for cover under a table as the powerful earthquake struck while he was in the North African country, sending crowds into a panic and leaving rubble strewn across streets.
At least 632 people are confirmed to have died in Friday night’s (local time) magnitude-6.8 earthquake and a further 329 people were injured, Moroccan authorities said.
Young, who was in the fourth-largest city Marrakech, said: “We were having dinner and the ground started shaking. The whole building was shaking. There was stuff flying everywhere.
“There were about 300 people in the restaurant. People were panicking, running out. We got down under a big table.
Rubble fills the streets of Marrakech, Morocco, after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on Friday evening (local time). Photo / Rob Young
“I’ve never felt anything like it. It seemed to go on for a long time. Glasses and stuff were crashing around. There is rubble around in the streets and there’s masonry falling down,” Young said.
Auckland man David Brice, who was also in Marrakech, yelled for his wife and daughter after he was woken by the earthquake.
“I don’t know if it was the noise or the shaking that woke us up,” he said.
“We had to shelter under the door [frame]. As we were standing there the intensity was getting stronger and stronger. I was thinking to myself ‘if this goes on like this for another second or two, this is all going to fall down around us’.
“There was so much screaming and shrieking, like really panicked. Marrakech doesn’t really have earthquakes, so this was very very frightening,” Brice said.
Speaking to the Herald about 4.45am local time, Brice said he was “worried to see what daylight brings”.
“We knew it had been serious because there was a lot of dust in the air. That could only mean the buildings would have crumbled.
“We stayed out on the roof for a couple of hours because I was concerned about aftershocks. We decided we might as well head back to bed, but we haven’t really slept - there’s too much adrenaline in the system,” Brice said.
Moroccans posted videos to social media showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust, and parts of the famous red walls surrounding the old city in Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage site, damaged.
Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in the city as throbbing club music played.
Young said it took him more than two hours to return from the restaurant to where he was staying.
“We sat down where we were and actually waited for another hour and a half in a big square to keep safe.
“We’re still not sure whether there’s going to be any aftershocks or not. There are lots of cracks in buildings. I suppose the worry is that there’s going to be more and worse damage,” he said.
“It’s just something you don’t expect to happen in Marrakech.”
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11.11pm (local time), with shaking lasting several seconds.
Kiwi man in Marrakech, Morocco, Rob Young, says "There are lots of cracks in buildings". Photo / Rob Young
Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale. The USGS reported a magnitude-4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.
Variations in early measurements are common, although either reading would be Morocco’s strongest in years.
Though earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near Agadir and caused thousands of deaths in 1960.
The tremor’s epicentre was high in the Atlas Mountains roughly 70 kilometres south of Marrakech. It was also near Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa and Oukaimeden, a popular Moroccan ski resort.
The USGS said the epicentre was 18km below Earth’s surface, while Morocco’s seismic agency put it at 8km down.
Young travelled to Marrakech for a work trip, which he said was still going to go ahead.
“We’re in a Riad [a traditional Moroccan house with a garden in a central courtyard] and we’ve made the decision to sleep up on the rooftop tonight because we think it’s the safest place to be,” he said.
“The buildings are sort of brick and concrete, tiles have come off roofs. It’s a bit like the images you saw in Christchurch when all the shop fronts collapsed.
“All the verandas and things on the front of buildings have collapsed. You can see stuff everywhere and it’s sort of a bit of a mess,” he said.
The 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.
