A 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook Morocco this Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and spread panic among residents who ran out of the buildings. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers and left 296 dead so far.
He epicenter of the earthquake was in Marrakech although it was so strong that it was felt even in some points of Spain. In Seville and in some provinces of Andalusia it was also perceived to have originated in Morocco.
The strong shaking of the earth provoked fear among Moroccans who captured the moment with their cell phones and shared it on social networks.
The USGS PAGER system, which provides preliminary assessments of the impact of earthquakes, issued a Orange alert for economic losses by estimating that significant damage is likely to occur, as well as a yellow alert for possible fatalities related to the earthquake.
“The population in this region lives in structures that are highly vulnerable to seismic shaking”said the USGS.
A Twitter user recorded the moment when the earthquake began to be felt in an amusement center and all the people inside ran quickly and very scared.
Morocco experiences frequent earthquakes in its northern region due to its position between the African and Eurasian plates.
In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when an earthquake hit Al Hoceima, in the northeast of the country.
In 1980, the earthquake in Magnitude 7.3 Asnam in neighboring Algeria it was one of the most destructive earthquakes in contemporary history. It left 2,500 dead and at least 300,000 homeless.
Source: Ambito
