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The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck Morocco on September 8 has risen to 2,946, local media reported.

The Moroccan government has increased rescue efforts and is using heavy equipment to search for survivors of the magnitude-7 earthquake that shook the southern part of Marrakesh on September 8. The rescue teams are continuing to distribute water, food, tents and blankets to quake victims. Though a large number of supplies and rescue teams were organized, the work is slow, as landslides have buried the roads to the quake's epicenter. 

Search and rescue efforts were hampered in quake-hit Morocco due to difficulty accessing the epicenter of the earthquake which is deep in the mountains. Authorities distributed humanitarian aid while locals tried to clear the roads with their bare hands. Rescue teams are still searching under the rubble in Talat N'Yaaqoub and Tinmel. 

The death toll from a magnitude-6.8 earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday has risen to 2,901, local media reported.

Several countries have offered Morocco aid and search support after Friday's powerful earthquake. Xu Shiling from the International Academy of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent at Suzhou University points out that the country should notice the risk of endemic poverty after the disaster.

The only hospital in Amizmiz, which is located near the epicenter of the earthquake in Morocco, was damaged in the quake. The medical workers there are still trying to help the injured. Local authorities have set up temporary medical facilities to treat the patients, especially those injured in the earthquake.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Tuesday
launched an emergency appeal to raise 100 million Swiss francs ($112.3 million) to support the victims of the earthquake in Morocco.

"In this appeal, we are seeking 100 million CHF to be able to deliver on the most pressing needs at this time," including water, sanitation and shelter, Caroline Holt, global director for operations at IFRC, told reporters in Geneva. "We need to make sure that we avoid a second wave of disaster."

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck Morocco on last Friday has risen to 2,862, state TV reported on Monday.

The fatal earthquake that shook Morocco on Friday pummeled the country's ancient city of Marrakesh, demolishing homes and roads as well as infrastructure, and left many people homeless in its wake.

According to the Moroccan official television, the majority of the earthquake victims came from inhospitable, hilly areas close to the epicenter.

Because of landslides and rockfalls, most of the hilly region is inaccessible, and damaged roads made it even more difficult to conduct rescue operations.

China will continue providing assistance to Morocco based on its needs, in order to help the country cope with the earthquake disaster, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The Red Cross Society of China declared on Saturday that it will send the Moroccan Red Crescent  $200,000 in cash as immediate humanitarian assistance for its rescue operations, and that it would keep up with the country's relief requirements.

"When the earthquake struck, the medical team admitted many pregnant women and successfully delivered babies," Ma Nan, a leader of the Chinese medical support team said. 

The Chinese medical team sent to Morocco in the wake of the earthquake bravely performed numerous cesarean sections at a hospital in the city of Ben Guerir in the center of Morocco, successfully bringing new life into the world.

With local medical conditions significantly disrupted by the earthquake, Chinese medical staff exhibited unflinching loyalty to their jobs, promising to fulfill their duties and provide the best medical care possible to those afflicted.

Algeria has shown willingness to assist Morocco, stating it will open its airspace to flights carrying humanitarian aid, according to a state-owned news agency, quoting a presidential statement.

Tunisia confirmed on Saturday that a rescue team has gone for Morocco to assist with search and rescue efforts, according to the official TAP news agency. During its search activities, the crew of more than 50 professional rescue specialists will collaborate with local Moroccan rescue authorities.

"In terms of search and rescue, the first 72 hours are important. They call it the 'golden period' because if you're going to get under rubble, that's the time to do it and sometimes we see miracles," said Joe English, a UNICEF emergency communications specialist.

The death toll from the magnitude-6.8 earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday has risen to 2,497, said the interior ministry.

(If you have specific expertise and want to contribute, or if you have a topic of interest that you'd like to share with us, please email us at nature@cgtn.com.)

International aid is mobilized to help search for survivors and remove debris in the areas affected by the earthquake that struck the Marrakesh region of southern Morocco on September 8. After the quake, many countries and regions, including Singapore, Germany, and Türkiye, conveyed their concern to Morocco and decided to provide humanitarian aid. The Red Cross Society of China decided to provide $200,000, and a Chinese medical rescue team is working around the clock to save earthquake survivors in Morocco. Spain, the UK, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates also sent search and rescue teams to Morocco.

A Chinese employee working in Morocco's quake-hit Marrakesh recorded video footage highlighting the plight of stricken residents in the aftermath of the harrowing disaster. The death toll from Friday's magnitude-7 earthquake in Morocco has risen to more than 2,000, with over 1,000 others critically injured.

The death toll from Friday's magnitude-7 earthquake in Morocco has risen to more than 2,000, with over 1,000 others critically injured. In the days after the earthquake, the Moroccan government has urgently deployed large quantities of relief supplies, including tents and carpets. Many local residents voluntarily donated their own supplies.

The death toll in an earthquake that hit Morocco late on Friday, has risen to 2,122, while 2,421 people were injured, state TV said on Sunday.

Four French people were killed and 15 others injured in the deadly Morocco earthquake, local media outlet BFMTV reported on Sunday.

The death toll from Friday's magnitude-7 earthquake in Morocco has risen to more than 2,000, with over 1,000 others critically injured. The earthquake's epicenter was near Ighil in Al Haouz Province, destroying buildings in the deadliest tremor to hit the country in decades.

After the quake, many countries and regions, including Singapore, Germany and Türkiye, conveyed their concern to Morocco and decided to provide humanitarian aid. Singapore Red Cross pledged $50,000 to the country. Meanwhile, France, Spain and Israel decided to send medical and rescue teams to Morocco for aid. The Red Cross Society of China decided to provide $200,000, and a Chinese medical rescue team is working around the clock to save earthquake survivors in Morocco.

The strong earthquake affected almost all the major cities in Morocco. However, the villages near the epicenter were even more damaged. According to Martin Jay, a journalist living in the south of Marrakesh, houses in the villages are usually made with wood and mud. The quake almost destroyed every building, leaving the residents homeless.

Some ancient heritage sites were also destroyed in the earthquake. For example, the Koutoubia Mosque, built in the 12th century, was damaged, but the extent is not immediately clear. Its 69-meter minaret is known as the "roof of Marrakech." Moroccans also posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

"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 the University College London.

For more:

Devastating earthquake jolts Morocco, more than 2,000 killed

(With input from Reuters)

France is ready to help Morocco when the Moroccan authorities 'deem it useful,' President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday in New Delhi, India, after the G20 summit. 

Spain will send search and rescue teams and other aid to quake-hit Morocco after it received a formal request for help from Rabat, Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares said Sunday.

"It is a sign of Spanish solidarity and of the sense of friendship which unites the people of Spain with the people of Morocco," he said during an interview with Catalunya Radio, adding he received a call from his Moroccan counterpart requesting the aid in the early hours of Sunday.

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in Morocco has soared to over 2,000, according to the latest update from the country's Interior Ministry on September 9.

The heaviest casualties are in provinces just south of Marrakesh, but the tremors were also felt in the capital, Rabat, some 350 kilometers away, Casablanca, Agadir and Essaouira.

A CGTN Stringer in Marrakesh, the nearest large city to the epicenter, spoke about his experience during the strong earthquake and its aftermath.

The powerful earthquake that struck Morocco late Friday, killing more than 2,000 people and smashing numerous buildings and homes, didn't hit in the most active seismological region, according to a French expert. 

However, Philippe Vernant, a specialist in active tectonics at the University of Montpellier, warned that aftershocks can be expected.

Why was the Morocco quake so devastating?

The magnitude of the Morocco quake was 6.8, which corresponds roughly to an average displacement on the fault line of around one meter in a few seconds, over several kilometers, said Vernant.

"Obviously, this shakes the region enormously. Then there's the depth: at first it was estimated to be at around 25-30 kilometers, but it seems to be going back up, closer to 10 kilometers," Philippe added. "The closer you get to the surface, the greater the effect of the rupture." 

The city's famous Koutoubia Mosque, built in the 12th century, was damaged, but the extent was not immediately clear. Its 69-meter minaret is known as the "roof of Marrakech." Moroccans also posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

"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.

Aftershocks in Morocco are expected

"Aftershocks are bound to occur. Even if they are less strong, they can lead to the collapse of buildings already weakened by the earthquake," said Vernant, the French expert.

He took Türkiye's earthquake as an example.

"In Türkiye, one earthquake triggered another. The first tear can lead to the rupture of another fault through a cascade effect, which is why there is sometimes a risk of a stronger earthquake after the first one," he explained.

Huge damage caused by the quake

The epicenter of Friday's tremor was near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province, roughly 70 kilometers south of Marrakech. Al Haouz is known for scenic villages and valleys tucked in the High Atlas Mountains.

Police, emergency vehicles and people fleeing in shared taxis spent hours traversing unpaved roads through the High Atlas in stop-and-go traffic, often exiting their cars to help clear giant boulders from routes known to be rugged and difficult long before Friday's earthquake. In Ijjoukak, a village in the area surrounding Toubkal, North Africa's tallest peak, residents estimated nearly 200 buildings had been leveled.

Couch cushions, electric cords and grapes were strewn in giant piles of rubble alongside dead sheep, houseplants and doors wedged between boulders. Relatives from the town and those who had driven from major cities cried while they wondered who to call as they reckoned with the aftermath and a lack of food and water.

History of earthquakes in North Africa

Earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa. Lahcen Mhanni, head of the Seismic Monitoring and Warning Department at the National Institute of Geophysics, told 2M TV that the earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the region.

In 1960, a magnitude-5.8 tremor struck near the Moroccan city of Agadir and caused thousands of deaths. That quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors.

In 2004, a magnitude-6.4 earthquake near the Mediterranean coastal city of Al Hoceima left more than 600 people dead.

Friday's quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria's Civil Defense agency, which oversees emergency response.

(With input from AP and AFP)

(If you have specific expertise and want to contribute, or if you have a topic of interest that you'd like to share with us, please email us at nature@cgtn.com.)

A medical center in the central Moroccan city of Ben Guerir is the closest a medical team from China can get to the epicenter of the earthquake which struck the North African country on Friday. The team continues to work despite the risk of aftershocks. 

A magnitude-6.8 earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday, the biggest to hit the North African country in 120 years, sent people fleeing from their homes in terror and disbelief. Over 2,000 people have died and more than 2,000 others were injured. The epicenter of the earthquake was near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province, some 70 km southwest of Marrakesh. The earthquake caused devastating damage in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. The toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled to reach hard-hit remote areas.

Army helicopters are being used to deliver aid to remote areas affected by Friday's powerful earthquake in Morocco, CGTN correspondent reported on Sunday.

Several national and regional roads are damaged and remain closed to remote areas, complicating efforts to deliver disaster relief supplies.

Foreign aid shipments sent to Morocco are waiting for permission from the Morocco government to enter the earthquake zone, CGTN correspondent reported on Sunday.

Several countries have sent equipment and other support to Morocco following Friday's powerful earthquake. Algeria said on Saturday that it has opened its airspace to flights transporting humanitarian aid to, and the wounded from, the earthquake zone.

Morocco on Saturday declared three days of national mourning after a devastating earthquake jolted the kingdom late Friday night.

Flags will fly at half-mast on all public facilities during the period of national mourning, according to a statement released by the Royal Office after Moroccan King Mohammed VI chaired a meeting on the disaster.

A magnitude-6.8 earthquake hit Morocco on Friday at 11:11 p.m. local time at a depth of 18.5 kilometers, said the United States Geological Survey. The epicenter of the earthquake was near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province, some 70 km southwest of Marrakesh.

The quake has claimed the lives of 2,012 people and injured 2,059, with 1,404 of them in serious condition, according to the latest update from the country's Interior Ministry on Saturday.

Morocco has not experienced a disaster of this scale since 2004 when a magnitude-6.3 earthquake hit the port city of Al Hoceima, killing around 630 people.

Moroccan state TV said the majority of casualties in the earthquake were from the remote and inaccessible mountainous regions near the epicenter, with damaged roads further hindering rescue efforts.

Rescuers have been sent to the quake-hit areas to search for survivors, local media reported. TV footage showed rescuers digging through rubble and debris in an effort to save survivors.

Several national and regional roads are damaged and remain closed to remote areas, complicating efforts to deliver disaster relief supplies. Army helicopters are being deployed to deliver aid to such areas, a CGTN correspondent reported on Sunday.

The earthquake was felt in many cities across Morocco, including the capital Rabat and Casablanca. Numerous houses collapsed in the cities of Taroudant and Marrakesh, local media reported.

Rows of buildings were leveled to the ground in Imlil, a small village in the High Atlas mountains about 60 km south of Marrakesh, video footage showed.

The earthquake damaged many buildings in the old city of Marrakesh, the nearest big city to the epicenter, and many residents had to spend the night in the open space for fear of potential aftershocks, said Zhang Kai, an overseas Chinese living in Marrakesh.

"We still have people under the rubble waiting for people to rescue them, and officers are continuing their search," Amine, a resident of Moulay Brahim, a small town in Al Haouz, told CGTN correspondents.

"Our houses have been completely demolished. They are no longer suitable for habitation or shelter," Bouchoeib, another Moulay Brahim resident who has joined many staying in tents in the open, told CGTN.

Countries offer aid, solidarity

Shipments of foreign aid sent to Morocco are waiting for permission from the Morocco government to enter the earthquake zone, a CGTN correspondent reported on Sunday.

Several countries have sent equipment and other support to Morocco following the earthquake. Algeria said on Saturday that it has opened its airspace to flights transporting humanitarian aid to, and the wounded from, the earthquake zone.

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) announced on Saturday that it would provide the Moroccan Red Crescent with $200,000 in cash as emergency humanitarian assistance to assist in its rescue operations.

The RCSC said it would keep abreast of the relief needs in Morocco and pledged to offer assistance to the best of its ability.

Arab countries and organizations, including the Arab League (AL), Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon and Libya, on Saturday sent condolences to Morocco over the devastating earthquake. They have expressed solidarity with Morocco and pledged support for its rescue and relief efforts.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, secretary-general of the Cairo-based AL, said he hoped Morocco would quickly overcome the crisis.

Other countries that have offered condolences or assistance include Iran, Türkiye, Israel, France, Germany and the U.S.

(With input from Xinhua)

The old city of Marrakech was severely damaged by the earthquake that hit late on Friday, but life in the area is now almost back to normal. The death toll has risen to 1037. 

At least 1,037 people were killed after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake jolted Morocco on Friday, local media reported.

Algeria opened its airspace to flights transporting humanitarian aid to, and the wounded from, the Moroccan earthquake zone, Sky News Arabia reported on Saturday.

Algeria closed its airspace to all Moroccan planes in September 2021 following the severing of ties between the two neighboring countries.

The Red Cross Society of China decided to provide the Moroccan Red Crescent with $200,000 as emergency humanitarian assistance to support its rescue and disaster relief work following a devastating earthquake in the North African country.

China is willing to provide emergency humanitarian assistance in accordance with the needs of earthquake victims in Morocco, said Xu Wei, spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent a message of condolence to Moroccan King Mohammed VI over a powerful earthquake in the country that has caused heavy casualties and property losses.

Xi expressed his deep condolences to the victims and offered sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured on behalf of the Chinese government and people.

He voiced his belief that, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, the government and its people will surely overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes at an early date.  

The Red Cross Society of China on Saturday announced that it would provide the Moroccan Red Crescent with $200,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance to support its rescue and disaster relief work following the devastating earthquake in the North African country.

(Cover: A woman looks at the rubble of a building in the earthquake-damaged old city in Marrakesh, Morocco, September 9, 2023. /CFP)

At least 820 people were killed after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake jolted Morocco on Friday, local media reported.

At least 632 people were killed after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake jolted Morocco on Friday, State TV reported.

Epicenter of the quake:

Morocco's geophysical center said the quake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2. The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 6.8 and said it was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 km.

Ighil, a mountainous area featuring small farming villages, is about 70 km southwest of Marrakech. The quake struck just after 11 p.m. local time (2200 GMT).

Deadly quakes in Morocco's history:

In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when a quake hit Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco.

In 1960, a magnitude-5.8 tremor struck near Agadir in the country and caused thousands of deaths.

(With input from agencies)

At least 296 people were killed and 153 others were injured after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake jolted Morocco on Friday, Morocco's Royal Armed Forces said on Saturday, citing the Ministry of Interior of Morocco.

At least 296 people were killed and 153 others were injured after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake jolted Morocco on Friday, Morocco's Royal Armed Forces said on Saturday, citing the Ministry of Interior of Morocco.

Dozens of people were killed after a powerful earthquake jolted Morocco on Friday, local media reported.

Morocco's Royal Armed Forces said around 100 people were killed, while LSi Africa, citing Morocco's Ministry of Interior, reported at least 231 deaths.

There has been no official confirmation on the number of casualties.

The earthquake was felt in many cities across Morocco, including Rabat and Casablanca, the largest city in the North African country.

At least five people were killed after a magnitude-6.9 earthquake jolted Morocco on Friday, Al Arabiya reported, citing local sources.

A magnitude-6.9 earthquake jolted Morocco at a depth of 10 kilometers on Friday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

At least 20 buildings collapsed in the city of Marrakech after the quake, according to a CMG reporter.

Videos shared on social media showed buildings shaking and people running out and congregating outside. 

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

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 when a quake hit Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco. 

(With input from agencies)