THE NATION
The death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit Morocco’s Atlas Mountains region late on Friday has risen to 2,122.
The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck at about 11:11pm (22:11 GMT) at a depth of nearly 26km (16 miles), according to the US Geological Survey. The depth was initially reported at about 18km.
Authorities have declared three days of national mourning, with many left homeless following the country’s deadliest earthquake in more than 60 years.
The earthquake’s epicentre was located in Al Haouz province in the High Atlas of the mountains – an area usually not associated with earthquakes – about 75km (44 miles) from Marrakesh, Morocco’s fourth largest city. Marrakesh’s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is reported to have been badly affected, with images emerging of collapsed buildings.
Al Haouz was the hardest-hit province, as Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua, and Taroudant provinces were also severely affected…
