The damage caused by the earthquake that struck Morocco during the night from Friday to Saturday is visible from space. Satellite images show the extent of the damage in several regions of the country, but particularly in the High Atlas, a mountainous region where the rural population is sometimes isolated from urban centers.
This earthquake, of magnitude 7, according to the Moroccan Center for Scientific and Technical Research (6.8 according to the United States Geological Survey), is the most powerful to have ever struck the kingdom. It was felt as far as Casablanca, in the north, and as far as Agadir, in the southwest. This coastal city itself experienced a deadly earthquake in February 1960, which killed nearly 15,000 people.
Using satellite photographs from the American company Maxar Technologies, The duty was able to extract images allowing us to see the damage in the regions most affected by the earthquake.
In the commune of Talat N’Yaaqoub, south of Marrakech, the damage is striking: on the main road which passes through the region, the destroyed buildings follow one after the other. Spanish rescuers are currently on site .
A few kilometers away, in the capital of the commune of Ighil, the epicenter of the earthquake, the main street of the village is blocked by debris, making traffic difficult. The same scenario is happening almost everywhere across the country: remote villages are in dire need of help, but the damage caused by the earthquake considerably complicates access to these places.
This is particularly the case in the commune of Imgdal, in the heart of the High Atlas. Several buildings in the area did not withstand the earthquakes, and the main road leading to the village was blocked by landslides.
With Agence France-Presse
