Sat Sep 9, 2023, 02:58 AM

Morocco earthquake: hundreds dead, says government, as buildings fall and people flee homes

Last edited Sat Sep 9, 2023, 10:17 AM - Edit history (3)

Source: The Guardian

A powerful earthquake centred in Morocco's High Atlas mountains killed hundreds of people, the government said, after buildings collapsed and people fled their shuddering homes in several cities and towns.

Residents of Marrakech, the nearest major city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, a Unesco world heritage site, and local television showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars after the quake struck at 11.11pm on Friday.

On Saturday morning, Moroccan television reports raised the death toll to 632, with 329 injured, citing the interior ministry. Earlier, the ministry said there were hundreds of deaths in the provinces near the quake centre. The ministry added that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns.
...
Morocco's geophysical centre said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2. The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5km (11.5 miles).

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/09/morocco-earthquake-leaves-panicked-people-sleeping-in-street-reports

Live updates:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/sep/09/morocco-earthquake-ighil-marrakesh-latest-news-updates

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-66760889

Death toll passes 1,000 people
The Moroccan government says the death toll has reached 1,037, with more than 1,200 injured, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/sep/09/morocco-earthquake-ighil-marrakesh-latest-news-updates?pagewith:block-64fc6d098f08addfe9224499#block-64fc6d098f08addfe9224499

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9 replies	Author	Time	Post
Morocco earthquake: hundreds dead, says government, as buildings fall and people flee homes (Original post)	muriel_volestrangler	Sep 9	OP
From what I've seen	ornotna	Sep 9	#1
What I heard...	2naSalit	Sep 9	#4
NPR was reporting that in the rural areas	NJCher	Sep 9	#7
Tragedy for the good people of the Atlas Mountains...beautiful area and people.	Alexander Of Assyria	Sep 9	#2
Wow. Such a shame.	twodogsbarking	Sep 9	#3
Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 1,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech	Eugene	Sep 9	#5
So sad for the people and heritage. Just after 11 p.m. and	Hortensis	Sep 9	#6
They have had some awful earthquakes in that part	leftyladyfrommo	Sep 9	#8
here is a slideshow	NJCher	Sep 9	#9

Response to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 07:15 AM

ornotna (10,546 posts)

1. From what I've seen

On TV there appears to be very little to no rebar in any of the rubble. Probably old mud brick construction. There’s still quite a bit of that in North Africa and the Middle East from what I remember.

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Response to ornotna (Reply #1)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 09:59 AM

2naSalit (79,147 posts)

4. What I heard...

On NPR, is that a lot of Marrakech is ancient as it is an ancient city, a little before rebar.

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Response to ornotna (Reply #1)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 11:55 AM

NJCher (34,014 posts)

7. NPR was reporting that in the rural areas

it was largely mud brick construction.

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Response to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 08:08 AM

Alexander Of Assyria (7,566 posts)

2. Tragedy for the good people of the Atlas Mountains...beautiful area and people.

Condolences Morocco. 😢

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Response to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 09:30 AM

twodogsbarking (7,412 posts)

3. Wow. Such a shame.

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Response to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 10:44 AM

Eugene (58,865 posts)

5. Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 1,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech

Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 1,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech (Associated Press)

The quake was the biggest to hit Morocco in 120 years, and it toppled buildings and walls in ancient cities made from stone and masonry not designed to withstand quakes.

“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.

https://news.yahoo.com/powerful-earthquake-strikes-morocco-causing-230758164.html

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Response to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 11:00 AM

Hortensis (58,785 posts)

6. So sad for the people and heritage. Just after 11 p.m. and

the desert cooled at night, so most would have been home and inside.

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Response to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 11:58 AM

leftyladyfrommo (18,290 posts)

8. They have had some awful earthquakes in that part

of the world. And so many people die.

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Response to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Sat Sep 9, 2023, 11:59 AM

NJCher (34,014 posts)

9. here is a slideshow

I don't know if you'll be able to view them because it's Washington Post. I'm still trying to figure out where the gift thingie is for a slideshow.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2023/morocco-earthquake-marrakesh-al-haouz-photos/

The damage will stun you.

on edit: I think you can watch them because when I just re-visited, I saw I wasn't even signed in. I'm on a new computer and haven't even put in passwords yet.

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