Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 2,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech
Associated PressMARRAKECH, Morocco — A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. By midday, people were outside mourning neighbors, surveying the damage on their camera phones and telling one another “May God save us.” Hamid Idsalah, a 72-year-old mountain guide, said he and many others remained alive but had little future to look forward to. At least 2,012 people died in the quake, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicenter, Morocco’s Interior Ministry reported Saturday night. Police, emergency vehicles and people fleeing in shared taxis spent hours traversing unpaved roads through the High Atlas in stop-and-go traffic, often exiting their cars to help clear giant boulders from routes known to be rugged and difficult long before Friday’s earthquake.