A natural disaster has struck Morocco: a powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.9 from epicenters 80 km away in Marrakech destroyed the popular tourist and densely populated city. In fact, the tragedy of this February was repeated, when many cities in the southeast of Turkey were destroyed. Today in Morocco, terrible tremors also caused buildings to collapse, cars to overturn, and tourists and local residents ran out into the streets in horror to escape. Over 820 dead have already been counted, but the search continues. The situation is complicated by the fact that the disaster occurred at night: the earthquake occurred on September 8 at 23:11 local time.
The full extent of the damage may take several hours to reveal, as roads blocked by debris and distances between many of the affected mountain villages slow the assessment. Sights, including those on the UNESCO list, were destroyed, and hotels were damaged. In fact, the old city of Marrakech itself, known as the Medina, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and contains buildings that date back to its founding in the 11th century.
At least 820 people were killed in the devastating earthquake, local state media said. “There are fears that the death toll could soon rise as at least 672 people have now been confirmed to have been taken to hospital with injuries,” the media added. It is quite possible that among the dead and injured there are foreign tourists – at least, social networks are full of terrible stories from tourists.
“It was absolutely terrible. The hotel chandeliers started shaking and we all ran for our lives to get out. Everyone ran out in panic, screaming… I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” says one of the victims. Tourists reported that the earthquake caused glass to fly out in the lobby of their hotels, some had to spend the night on the lawn in front of the hotel, others were in a panic because they could not find relatives who had gone on an excursion. Even tourists who remained in unaffected areas tell how they woke up to the sound of ambulance sirens.
Let us recall that in February a terrible earthquake, the strongest in the last 20 years, hit Turkey. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.4, which is very high, and the “echo” of the tremors was felt in more than 10 countries. At the same time, according to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 occurred at 04:17 in the Pazardzhik region of Kahramanmarash. Almost immediately after it, at 04:26, another earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 occurred, the epicenter of which is located in the Nurdaga region of Gaziantep, near the Turkish-Syrian border. Aftershocks were felt throughout Turkey, right down to the resort provinces. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the earthquake occurred in the early morning, when everyone was still sleeping, so the preliminary number of deaths and injuries continues to grow. Read more here.
Next, another earthquake occurred at 13:23, and the magnitude of the earthquake was recorded as 7.8, the epicenter being Elbistan district of Kahramanmaraş province,” they state. It is also reported that new tremors are felt in Damascus, Latakia and a number of other provinces of Syria. And also in the capital of Turkey, Ankara, and its main resort, Antalya. (Read details here)
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