A military helicopter delivers aid in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Talat N’Yaaqoub, in Morocco September 12, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The epicentre of Morocco’s devastating earthquake on 8 September was in the High Atlas Mountains, about 71km south-west of Marrakesh. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Jesús Galindo-Zaldivar, who has been carrying out research on the formation of the Atlas mountains and the geology of the area, about the factors which led to this situation.

Tafeghaghte:

Hamid ben Henna had just asked his young son Marouane to fetch a knife to cut a melon for the family’s evening meal when Morocco’s earthquake hit on Friday night.

With the weekend beginning, they had been enjoying a lamb and vegetable tagine stew and Marouane had been telling his father what materials he would need for the coming school year.

“That’s when it struck,” Ben Henna said. The room began to shake, the lights went out and rubble started falling from the ceiling of their traditional house in a remote village of the High Atlas mountains.

The earthquake was Morocco’s most powerful since at least 1900 and it killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in small mountain villages like Tafeghaghte where the Ben Henna family live.

Ben Henna and his other son, Mouad, staggered out of the open door into the alleyway as their house began to collapse. They managed to free his wife Amina and small daughter Meryem. But as the dust settled they saw that Marouane had not made it.

The eight-year-old had run further into the house and was lying under a meter of rubble.

His little body was only recovered the next day, after Ben Henna’s brothers arrived by car from Casablanca, five hours away, to help lift the rubble.

Marouane, described by his father as an enthusiastic boy who loved school, was buried on Saturday morning.

The family is now not only grieving but destitute. All their belongings lie in the wreckage of their fallen house and they face a third night sleeping outside in the bitter mountain cold.

Ben Henna’s source of livelihood, the three-wheel moped he used to ferry goods around the neighbourhood for a small fee, was buried in falling debris and no longer works. The alleyway leading to the ruins of their house is covered in fallen rocks.

The family still have a donkey and a goat that survived the quake. But their animal feed was buried in a collapsed storeroom and there is little point slaughtering the animals because they cannot refrigerate the meat.

Barely a house in Tafeghaghte seems unscathed by the disaster. Of the roughly 400 villagers, nearly 80 are dead, according to survivors. Large piles of rubble dot the village. One family Ben Henna knew lost seven members.

Families have gathered under olive trees in a small field to pitch shelters where survivors can spend the night, safe from aftershocks even if their damaged homes stayed mostly erect.

Fatima Boujdig sat with her husband in the shade of their large red truck, badly damaged by falling rubble, as a donkey grazed nearby. They borrowed money to buy the truck and do not know how they can now repay it.

“We were in darkness and covered in dust. We heard the earthquake and the rocks and walls falling… now you can see the village is reduced to rubble,” she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A woman looks on as people inspect damaged buildings, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Moulay Brahim, Morocco, September 10, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

There is no report till now of any Indian national getting affected due to the earthquake in Morocco that has killed over 2,000 people, the Embassy of India in Rabat has said, advising all its citizens in the country to stay calm and adhere to guidelines issued by the local authorities.

The powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook Morocco late on Friday.

The Interior Ministry of Morocco said late Saturday that 2,012 people were killed in the temblor. At least 2,059 people were injured, including 1,404 critically.

The Embassy of India in Rabat issued an advisory on Saturday in the aftermath of the quake and said it was in touch with the community members.

“Till now, there is no report of any Indian national getting affected due to the earthquake,” the mission said.

It urged all Indian nationals currently in Morocco to stay calm and adhere to the advisory/guidelines issued by the local authorities from time to time.

“The Embassy of India in Rabat would like to advise all Indian citizens residing in the Kingdom of Morocco that they can call our 24×7 helpline number +212 661 297 491 for any assistance they may require in the aftermath of the earthquake,” the advisory said.

Also read | Morocco struggles after rare, powerful earthquake kills and injures scores of people

Earlier, the Indian embassy in Morocco expressed its deep sympathy to the victims of the earthquake in the country.

“India stands ready to extend assistance to Morocco in this difficult time,” it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday also expressed grief at the loss of lives in an earthquake in Morocco.

“In this difficult hour the entire world community is with Morocco and we are ready to offer them all possible assistance,” he said in his opening remarks at the G-20 summit in New Delhi.

People take shelter and check for news on their mobile phones after an earthquake in Rabat, Morocco, late Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

A powerful earthquake that struck Morocco late Friday night killed at least 296 people, the country’s Interior Ministry said.

Moroccans posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in historic 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.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11:11 p.m. (2211 GMT), with shaking that lasted several seconds. Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale. The U.S. agency 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 epicentre of Friday’s tremor was high in the Atlas Mountains roughly 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) 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 18 kilometres (11 miles) below the Earth’s surface, while Morocco’s seismic agency put it at 8 kilometres (5 miles) down.

Beyond reports on the quake’s magnitude, neither Moroccan officials nor MAP, Morocco’s official news agency, had published any information about casualties or damages as of early Saturday. Government officials typically use the agency to communicate information about important matters.

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