Earthquakes in Morocco: Death toll rises to 2,000 as warning country will take years to recover – latest

The damage from the devastating, near-7 magnitude Morocco earthquake could take several years to repair, the Red Cross has warned.

Almost all buildings in some mountain-top villages in Morocco, including Tafeghaghte, a town 60km southwest of the historic city of Marrakech, was turned to rubble, local reports said.

“This will not be a week or two response as our region has seen in the big Syria/Türkiye earthquake, again we are looking at many months if not several years of response,” said Hossam Elsharkawi, the organisation’s Middle East and North Africa director.

“Our top priority now is search and rescue to get to those who are trapped, to provide first aid, and to take care of survivors,” he said.

The ground shook with a force few had ever felt, thundering through the remote Moroccan village in the dark of night.

When the earthquake was over late Friday, the town carved into the Atlas Mountains lay in devastation – possibly dozens dead, scores of homes crumpled and walls reduced to rubble. Soon crews were listening for desperate sounds of life within the ruins of Moulay Brahim.

A village of fewer than 3,000 people, Moulay Brahim attracts tourists and outdoor enthusiasts with its stunning vistas and proximity to Marrakech. Streets brimmed with small hotels and cafes overlooking gorges and green valleys.

But after the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,000 across Morocco, the scene in the village is bleak.

People in the poor rural community about 45km (28 miles) northeast of the quake epicenter live in homes made of clay brick and cinder block, many of which are no longer standing or safe to inhabit. Fallen walls exposed the innards of damaged homes, their rubble sliding down hills.

A gut-wrenching photo has shown two men hugging each other as they dig graves for those who died in the devastating earthquake in Morocco.

The photo, taken by a photographer for The Associated Press, shows the men comforting each other in Ouargane village near Marrakech.

Holidaymaker Nadia Cryer shares what she experienced during the devastating quake that struck Morocco. Over 2,000 people have been killed and at least 2,059 people injured after the near-7 magnitude quake struck the country. “My brain couldn’t accept that it was an earthquake. I was just terrified,” Ms Cryer told Sky News. Watch here as she shares her experience of one of the most powerful earthquakes to ever strike the country.

The next two days are critical for Morocco in terms of saving lives, a top Red Cross official has said amid the devastating earthquake that struck the country late Friday night.

“The next 24 to 48 hours will be critical in terms of saving lives,” Caroline Holt, global director of operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement.

More than 300,000 people have been affected by the earthquake, according to the World Health Organisation.

Villagers in Morocco’s mountaintop rural areas have appealed for help as the devastating near-7 magnitude quake that struck the country on Friday has brought down their homes.

“We felt a huge shake like it was doomsday. Ten seconds and everything was gone,” a resident of the village Moulay Brahim said, according to The Associated Press.

“People are suffering here very much. We are in dire need of ambulances. Please send us ambulances to Moulay Brahim. The matter is urgent. Please save us,” he added.

Residents say the buildings, especially in the rural areas, weren’t designed for such violent quakes with many wondering how long it may take for the region to recover.

Fearing aftershocks and that their homes could be unsafe to return to, families in the worst-hit Marrakech city spent the second night huddling and sleeping on the streets following Friday’s devastating quake that took the lives of thousands in Morocco.

Many said their homes were likely damaged by the devastating quake or that an aftershock could destroy them in the coming hours or days, Reuters reported.

“I cannot sleep there. I am asking the authorities to help me and bring in an expert to assess whether it is possible for me to return to the house or not. If there is a risk, I will not return to the house,” 51-year-old Mouhamad Ayat Elhaj, a resident of the old city, said.

Earthquake geologists studying the Morocco earthquake say the devastating seismic event is a stark warning to test buildings, especially in areas that have previously experienced tremors, for strong shaking.

“News out of Morocco has been dire, with >1k fatalities so far and many images of collapsed, apparently unreinforced masonry,” earthquake scientist Judith Hubbard posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Many experts, including those at the USGS, have pointed out that while earthquakes in northern Africa are not frequent, they are not unexpected as well, with Morocco positioned at the juncture of a tectonic crash between the African and Eurasian continental plates, moving slowly at about 4-6 mm per year.

In 1960, a magnitude-5.8 quake that struck near Morocco’s Agadir caused 12,000-15,000 deaths in coastal western Morocco.

However, experts pointed out that despite past experience with a devastating quake, many houses, especially in the rural regions of the country still seem to have buildings vulnerable to shaking.

“Buildings in the area may never have been tested by strong shaking. This is a stark reminder that many structures around the world remain a seismic risk,” Dr Hubbard said.

An expert has revealed why there was a variation in the magnitude of the earthquake that was reported in Morocco.

The country’s own National Institute of Geophysics reported the late Friday night earthquake as having a magnitude of 7.2 on the Ritcher scale. In contrast, however, the US Geological Survey measured the quake to be at 6.8.

While the difference of 0.4 units may not seem much, geologists say a 7.2 earthquake can be 2.5 times larger than a magnitude 6.8 event, and release nearly four times the energy.

Experts say the precise magnitude of the devastating quake in Morocco that has killed thousands could vary in the coming days as more data emerges on the disaster’s early moments.

“There is an uncertainty when you measure” earthquake magnitudes as different agencies tend to use different data and methodologies, seismologist Paul S Earle told The New York Times.

While the USGS uses stations across the globe to make measurements, Moroccan authorities, according to Dr Earle, most likely used local stations.

Further data and measurements in the coming days can settle this disparity, according to experts, who say calculating the precise magnitude can help better forecast the immediate risk posed by aftershocks as well as the region’s longer-term potential for similar quakes.