The earthquake that hit Marrakech “is as if a bomb had fallen on us”

The tourist city of marrakesh woke up on Saturday in a state of shock after the violent earthquake that shook Morocco on Friday night and which left at least 1,037 dead and significant material damage.

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The narrow streets of Mellahhistoric Jewish neighborhood of the medina, were filled with rubble, the old buildings They collapsed and the wooden roofs broke.

“It’s as if a bomb had fallen on us”she told AFP in dismay. Hafida Sahraouia.

“We were making dinner when we heard some kind of explosion. I panicked and quickly left with my children. Unfortunately our house collapsed,” said the 50-year-old woman, who sought refuge with her family in a large square in her neighborhood.

Residents remain in a square after an earthquake in Marrakech, Morocco, on September 9, 2023. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP). (FADEL SENNA/)

“We don’t know where to start. we have lost everything”, he lamented.

The House of Mbarka El Ghabarneighbor of Sahraouiawas also “destroyed” by the earthquake.

““We were sleeping when the earthquake happened, a part of the roof fell and we were trapped inside, but my husband and I managed to escape,” explained and stated that “had a nightmare night”.

LEARN MORE: At least 1,037 dead and 1,204 injured in the worst earthquake in the history of Morocco

‘Dying alone’

Mbarka and Hafida They did not lose any member of their family, a luck that unfortunately they could not share Fatiha Aboualchouakwhose four-year-old nephew died.

The thirty-year-old, who walked with a limp as if in a trance, has no “strength to speak”he admitted in a weak voice.

According to the Moroccan media, it is the most powerful earthquake suffered by the kingdom.

He United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the earthquake was of magnitude 6.8 and occurred at a depth of 18.5 kilometers, with the epicenter 71 kilometers southwest of marrakesha popular destination for foreign tourists.

A woman reacts in front of her house damaged by the earthquake in the old city of Marrakech, in Morocco, on September 9, 2023. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP). (FADEL SENNA/)

In the ocher city, where a provisional toll of 13 deaths was recorded, hundreds of tourists and residents of neighboring neighborhoods took refuge in the famous square Jamaa el Fna.

Many slept on the floor, sometimes without blankets.

Others couldn’t sleep a wink, like Ghannou Najeman octogenarian who arrived from White House to marrakesh a few hours before the earthquake.

“I came to visit the city with my daughter and granddaughter. At night they went out and I stayed at the hotel. I was going to sleep when I heard doors slam and the noise of the shutters. I left terrified, I thought she was going to die alone“, he claimed.

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A ‘traumatic’ experience

A few meters away, Rabab Raisswrapped in a duvet, described the earthquake as “the most traumatic experience of my life”.

“I saw people running everywhere, there was a lot of dust around the landslides. She was terrified“said the 26-year-old girl, resident in marrakesh.

“It is a painful experience, I am wholeheartedly with the families of the victims”he added.

In addition to marrakeshthe violent tremor was felt in Rabat, White House, Agadir and Essaouirasowing panic among the population.

A person with a child walks next to a damaged building after an earthquake in Marrakech, Morocco, September 9, 2023. (Photo: EFE/EPA/JALAL MORCHIDI) (JALAL MORCHIDI/)

Many people took to the streets of those cities, fearing the collapse of their homes, according to images published on social networks.

In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck al hoceimain the northeast of the country.

And in 1960, another earthquake destroyed Agadiron the west coast of the country, leaving more than 12,000 dead, a third of the city’s population.

Source: Elcomercio