The residents of Marrakesh city of Morocco were sleeping out in the open as they feared further aftershocks after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit the North African country late Friday that killed more than 2,000 and injured 2,059.
The World Health Organization has said more than 300,000 people had been affected by the powerful tremors throughout the country.
Video footage showed building structures coming down crushing parked cars and blocking streets across the historic city after the quake struck. Later, Moroccan state TV showed visuals in which residents were wrapped in blankets sleeping in the streets.
A resident, Brahim Himmi recalled seeing ambulances coming out of the old town and many buildings shaking due to powerful jolts. People were frightened and were staying outside in case of another quake, he said.
Witnesses said that residents in the surrounding areas also fled their homes fearing a stronger quake.
“We heard screams at the time of the tremor,” a resident of Essaouira, 124 miles west of Marrakesh, said by phone. “People are in the squares, in the cafes, preferring to sleep outside. Pieces of facades have fallen.”
Faisal Badour, an engineer, said he felt the quake three times in his building in Marrakesh.
“There are families who are still sleeping outside because we were so scared of the force of this earthquake,” he said. “The screaming and crying was unbearable.”
Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London said that the buildings are not constructed strong enough where such powerful quakes are rare.
“The problem is that where destructive earthquakes are rare, buildings are simply not constructed robustly enough to cope with strong ground shaking, so many collapses, resulting in high casualties,” he added.
Fayssal Badour, a resident of Marrakesh said that the jolts felt like the people were on a river that suddenly burst its banks.
“I was returning home when the earthquake struck. My car rocked back and forth, but I didn’t imagine for a single second this meant there was an earthquake happening,” he told France24.
“I stopped and I realised the catastrophe … it felt like we were on a river that suddenly burst its banks. The cries and the shouts were unbearable,” he said.
With input from agencies…
