RABAT (Reuters) -A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck central Morocco late on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, shaking buildings in nearby Marrakesh and sending panicked residents out into the streets.
The scale of the damage was not immediately clear.
The quake’s epicenter was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 km (11.5 miles) and occurred about 72 km (44 miles) southwest of Marrakesh and 56 km west of the Atlas Mountain town of Oukaimeden at just after 11 p.m. local time (2200 GMT), according to the USGS.
Some videos shared on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, appeared to show at least one building collapsing and rubble in the streets.
Others showed people running out of a shopping center, restaurants and apartment buildings and congregating outside.
In Marrakesh, resident Brahim Himmi said he saw ambulances coming out of the old town and that many building facades were damaged. He said many people were frightened and were staying outside in case of another quake.
(Reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi in Rabat; additional reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; writing by Rosalba O’Brien; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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