At least 296 people are dead and 153 injured after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Morocco late Friday night.
The interior ministry expects the death toll to rise, as most of the deaths have been in mountain areas that are hard for rescuers to reach.
The city of Agadir in southern Morocco also experienced a severe tremor; the earthquake’s magnitude has been revised upwards from 6.9 to 7.2 thus far. pic.twitter.com/TT9MSvYo1O
— Younes Winter 🏴☠️ (@Hacking4Arabs) September 9, 2023
The area near the historic Marrakech city was the hardest hit, but tremors were felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria.
🚨 An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 hits in the African country of Morocco on Friday night. In which 296 people have died so far. According to the Geological Survey, this is the most powerful earthquake in the area in 120 years.#earthquake #Morocco pic.twitter.com/Ieilz8ABqi
— Harsh Patel (@Harshpatel1408) September 9, 2023
The earthquake struck at 11:11 p.m. An aftershock hit just 19 minutes later.
The Independent reports, “Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network said the earthquake struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale. A 4.9-magnitude aftershock was reported just 19 minutes after the earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey.”
“About 20 million people felt the impact of the earthquake that has struck Morocco, while over 2 million people experienced strong to very strong shaking, according to an estimate by the US Geological Survey (USGS),” the report added.
Morocco got slammed by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake. 118 dead and counting. People on stretchers in the streets.
If you’re the praying type, now is as good a time as ever. pic.twitter.com/bNfDa59Q6r
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 9, 2023
In 1960, Morocco had a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck near Agadir and caused thousands of deaths.
This is a breaking story, The Gateway Pundit will be providing updates as the situation unfolds.