Update: 8: 40 am (September 09): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his condolences over the tragic demise of nearly 296 people in the Morroco earthquake on X. Extremely pained by the loss of lives due to an earthquake in Morocco. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the people of Morocco. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. India is ready to offer all possible assistance to…— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 9, 2023A tragic incident happened in Morocco, where a power earthquake of magnitude 6.8 hit the country last night, killing at least 296 people, according to local media. However, no official casualty figures have been released.6.8 magnitude earthquake hits MoroccoThe earthquake hit 44 miles (71 km) southwest of Marrakesh at a depth of 18.5 km at 11:11 pm (2211 GMT), the US Geological Survey said. The death toll may increase.Moroccos National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale while the US agency reported a magnitude 4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.Several videos have surfaced on social media, showing that the earthquake sent debris flying into narrow alleyways and items tumbling off shelves.Amid the situation, USGSs PAGER system, which provides preliminary assessments on the impact of earthquakes, issued an orange alert for economic losses, estimating significant damage is likely, and a yellow alert for shaking-related fatalities, indicating some casualties are possible. The USGS said that the population in this region lives in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking.Why Morocco is prone to earthquakesNotably, Morocco experiences frequent quakes in its northern region amid its position between the African and Eurasian plates.In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when a quake hit Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco.The 1980, 7.3-magnitude El Asnam earthquake in neighbouring Algeria was one of the largest and most destructive earthquakes in recent history. It killed 2,500 people and left at least 300,000 homeless.
