The Morocco Earthquake was not known to this visitor who landed at the airport in Marrakech. He said :
My flight landed 20 min after the earthquake, welcomed by a deserted airport with big glass commercials fallen on the floor with glass scattered all around, no immigration staff in place and the hotel transfer fled the scene.
It took me one hour before I knew it was an earthquake that caused all this. At the hotel we were asked to sleep outside, I picked a sunbed next to the swimming pool. All in all, things seem OK here, some ambulances can be heard, but few visual damage.
Outside the resort area, this may be a different picture.
Other social media postings by tourists in Marrakesh say:
The UNESCO-listed old town has been badly damaged.
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The interior ministry confirmed the collapse of a number of buildings and houses in many Moroccan provinces due to the earthquake.
The earthquake took place a little before 11:14 p.m. on Friday, leaving millions of Moroccans and visitors in a state of panic.
According to Morocco worldwide news videos and pictures of the damages caused by the earthquake, particularly in the Marrakech region have been circulating online. Local authorities including security services are mobilizing all resources to provide necessary aid to people affected while collecting more data on the damages caused by the earthquake.
Marrakesh is one of the busiest tourist cities in Africa. With hundreds of hotels, this city is packed with travelers from Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Africa.
The Morocco earthquake had a 6.8 strength and a recorded epic center 78 km from Marrakesh in the Atlas mountains. This is terrible for the UNESCO-protected ancient city, thousands of merchants hundreds of hotels, and of course visitors.
More than 600 people are already confirmed dead less than 10 hours after the quake, and this number is expected to climb drastically.
Tourists in Marrakesh left the hotels, and are camping outside in the open to escape after shocks.
However, the good news for Marrakesh is, that the center of the quake is in the surrounding Atlas mountain region. Day tours from Marrakesh to the Atlas mountains are popular. The earthquake struck in the middle of the night, so day tours were no longer in session.
Currently, 13 people are confirmed dead in Marrakesh. Every news outlet in the world is concentrating on this city, but the real damage, the larger number of victims will be in the cut-off mountain villages of Atlas Mountain.
People in Marrakesh are in a state of shock, some buildings were destroyed but overall almost everyone is okay.
According to latest number the latest number of deaths confirmed by region/ province:
- 290 Al Haouz
- 190 Taroudant
- 89 Chichaoua
- 30 Quarazate
- 13 Marrakesh
- 11 Axial
- 5 Agadir
- 3 Casablanca
- 1 El Youssoufia
Al Haouz includes a mountain region south of Marrakesh and east of the center of the quake. The region Taroudant is the mountain region west of Marrakesh. The situation is unclear, there is no communication at this time.
Many mountain regions are inaccessible. This is where the real disaster is hidden. The true extent of this earthquake will not come to light for another few days.
The Marrakesh tourism office has not yet posted any updates or instructions. Some foreign consulates are asking their citizens to contact them.
(eTN): Morocco Earthquake Puts Marrakech in the Tourism Spotlight, there is more | re-post license | post content
