A powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale has killed at least 296 people in Morocco, damaging buildings and sending panicked people onto the streets of Marrakech.

296 have died in the area of the popular tourist city, local media reported.

A terrifying moment of a collapse captured by a security camera#Maroc #moroccoearthquake #Morocco #earthquakemorocco #earthquake pic.twitter.com/9aeA7XsmoS

— Kinetik (@KinetikNews) September 9, 2023

The earthquake struck 71 km southwest of Marrakech at a depth of 18.5 km at 11:11 p.m. (10:11 p.m. GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

"We felt a very strong tremor and I realized it was an earthquake," Abdelhak El Amrani, a 33-year-old man from Marrakech, told AFP by phone.

"I saw the buildings moving. We don't necessarily have reflexes for this type of situation. Then I went outside and there were a lot of people there. Everyone was in shock and panic. The kids were crying and the parents were upset."

"The power went out for 10 minutes and so did the (telephone) network, but then it came back on. Everyone decided to stay outside," he added.

???? #BREAKING | #Morocco | #earthquake | #Marrakech |#الزلزال | #المغرب

The moment a building completely collapsed following the earthquake that struck Morocco a short while ago. pic.twitter.com/9n22NfiC8F

— Bot News (@BotNews18) September 9, 2023

Hospitals in Marrakesh were reported to have seen a "huge influx" of injured people.

In a town near the epicenter of the earthquake, a family was buried under rubble after their house collapsed, local media reported.

The USGS's PAGERsystem, which provides preliminary estimates of the impact of earthquakes, has issued an orange alert for economic losses, indicating that significant damage is possible, and a yellow alert for earthquake-related deaths, indicating that some casualties are possible.

How can MSM say "no immediate reports of damage"

This is the Mosque near the famous Jamaâ El Fnaa square in #Marrakech.#Morocco #Maroc pic.twitter.com/W4HXiCwamM

— Volcaholic ???? (@volcaholic1) September 8, 2023

The USGS said that "the population in this region lives in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquakes."

Morocco experiences frequent earthquakes in its northern region due to its location between the African and Eurasian plates.

In 2004, at least 628 people died and 926 were injured in an earthquake in Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco.

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