Algeria reopens airspace to and from Morocco for humanitarian aid and medical flights
From CNN’s Celine Alkhaldi and Eve Brennan
Algeria will open its airspace for humanitarian aid and medical flights going to and from Morocco, despite the countries' strained relations, Algerian state news agency APS reported, citing a statement from the country’s president.
“Algeria expressed today, Saturday, its full readiness to provide humanitarian aid to Morocco and put all the material and human capabilities in the wake of the violent earthquake that struck this country, according to a statement by the Presidency of the Republic,” APS reported.
“The authorities also decided Upper Algeria opened its airspace to flights to transport humanitarian aid and the wounded and injured,” it said.
Key context: Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021 and closed its airspace to all planes registered in Morocco.
11:28 a.m. ET, September 9, 2023
Head coach of Gambian soccer team describes moment earthquake hit
From CNN’s Celine Alkhaldi and Teele Rebane
Tom Saintfiet, head coach of the Gambian national football team, speaks at a press conference in 2022. Issouf Sang/AFP/Getty Images
Tom Saintfiet, head coach of the Gambian national football team, spoke to CNN about being in Marrakech with his team for an upcoming Africa Cup qualifier match against Congo when the earthquake hit.
“First, I thought someone was knocking on my door, then I thought a plane crashed, because our hotel is very close to the airport. But then it got scary. Really scary. The walls were shaking, and things were falling from the ceiling,” Saintfiet told CNN.
He gathered the members of his team, and they spent the night outside by the hotel pool. The coach says many of his players were in shock and had trouble sleeping.
“Some of the players had actually experienced the earthquake in Turkey not too long ago and so having to go through this was a very traumatic moment for them,” he said, referencing the devastating quake from February that killed tens of thousands of people.
The team's match against Congo is scheduled for Sunday, though it’s unclear whether it will go ahead. “We don’t know if that game is going to happen still, due to the casualties, but there is a very good chance it will, and so it is a strange moment. A strange situation. We try to cope with it, we try to keep the atmosphere high," he added.
8:52 a.m. ET, September 9, 2023
Turkey prepared to send personnel and tents to Morocco, emergency authority says
From CNN's Isil Sariyuce in Istanbul and Jessie Gretener in London
Turkey says it is ready to send 265 personnel and 1,000 tents to Morocco to support aid efforts following the deadly earthquake, according to AFAD, Turkey’s Emergency Management Authority.
In a statement, AFAD said it is responding to calls for international aid from Morocco. “A total of 265 personnel from AFAD, Ministry of Health’s National Rescue Team UMKE, Turkish Red Crescent and other NGOs are ready to take action,” it said.
AFAD also outlined that it is also able to send 1,000 tents to the region to assist people affected by the earthquake.
“We offer our condolences to the people of Morocco who were affected by the earthquake,” the agency said, according to the statement.
In February, a devastating earthquake hit Turkey, killing at least 45,000 people, rendering millions homeless across almost a dozen cities, and causing immediate damage estimated at $34 billion.
10:30 a.m. ET, September 9, 2023
It's early afternoon in Morocco. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
A resident navigates through the rubble in Marrakech, Morocco, on Saturday, September 9. Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
If you are just joining us, hundreds of people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck central Morocco.
The bulk of the deaths were in the province of Al Haouz, west of the quake's epicenter and south of Marrakech, a bustling economic and cultural center that's popular with tourists.
Here are the latest developments:
When and where: The quake struck shortly after 11 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET), according to the US Geological Survey. Its epicenter was in the High Atlas mountains, about 72 kilometers (44.7 miles) southwest of the Marrakech, home to around 840,000 people. Many people in the areas affected live in structures "highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking," the USGS noted.
Rising death toll: While more than 800 people have died, the figure is likely to rise. One expert said he expects multiple aftershocks and predicted the magnitude of these aftershocks to be in the "high fives."
Damage is complicating rescues:Rescue teams in the country were having difficulties reaching the hardest-hit areas, with nearby roads damaged or blocked. Some Marrakech residents spent the night sleeping in the streets. Traffic has been reported in some streets in the city amid a rush to pick up patients, as well as tourists fleeing the destruction.
Eyewitnesses describe devastation: People living in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, very close to the epicenter of the quake, have described the ruins left behind by the disaster. One eyewitness said her village is in a "very bad condition. There is destruction everywhere."
Huge international response: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the G20 summit on Saturday with "heartfelt condolences" to everyone affected by the quake. The United Nations has said it is ready to help, and other countries including Israel, the UAE, the US and France have said they are working to provide assistance to Morocco.
12:58 p.m. ET, September 9, 2023
Morocco earthquake affected 300,000 people in Marrakech and surrounding areas, WHO says
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem
The World Health Organization said the earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday night affected 300,000 people in the major city of Marrakech and surrounding areas.
The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean shared "sincere condolences and support" to the people of Morocco in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, Saturday, noting the 300,000 figure.
Marrakech is a cultural and economic hub popular with tourists. It is populated with some 840,000 people and located about 72 kilometers (44.7 miles) northeast of the High Atlas mountains, the area of the epicenter of the quake.
Even closer to the epicenter was the province of Al Haouz, which accounts for 394 out of the 820 people that have been confirmed dead so far, according to the country's interior ministry.
9:03 a.m. ET, September 9, 2023
Eyewitness near epicenter says almost all houses in his area were damaged by the Morocco quake
From CNN's Sarah El Sirgany
Mohamed, from Asni village in Alhouz, at the foothills of Morocco’s High Atlas mountains, told CNN Saturday almost all of the houses in his area have been damaged by the earthquake.
While he and his family managed to get out during the night, others were not so lucky. Mohamed told CNN his neighbor “lost” his two children, a boy and a girl.
Power was cut the moment the earthquake struck, and the village has been without water since dawn, he said.
Rescue efforts have been redirected to other nearby areas where the damage is much worse than his village, he added.
9:37 a.m. ET, September 9, 2023
Eyewitnesses describe destruction in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains following earthquake
From CNN’s Celine Alkhaldi and Teele Rebane
Motorists drive along a road on the way to earthquake-affected villages in the Atlas Mountains, near Marrakech, Morocco, on September 9. Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP
Fatima, 50, told CNN her house in the town of Asni in the foothills of the High Atlas mountains was destroyed in the earthquake.
“I barely got the chance to grab the kids and run out before I saw my house collapsing in front of my eyes. The neighbor’s house has also collapsed and there are two dead people under the rubble,” she said.
She added that help is yet to arrive in the remote town. “There is no one here to help pull the dead from under the destruction…the village is in very bad condition. There is destruction everywhere.”
Mohammed, 50, from the nearby town of Ouirgane, lost four family members in the quake. “I managed to get out safely with my two children but lost the rest. My house is gone.” he said.
Rescue operations are currently ongoing “We are out in the streets with authorities as they try to pull the dead from the rubble. Many, many people were transported to hospital in front of me. We are hoping for miracles from the rubble" he said.
Mustapha Louaanabi, who also lives in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains described the moment the earthquake struck saying there were “loud, deafening noises” and it felt as if “a train was passing right in the middle of the living room”.
His family fled outside, where they stayed for the rest of the night as aftershocks continued until 8am. “Nobody slept all night because of the aftershocks and the noise of these shocks created panic,” he said.
Louaanabi’s house survived the quake, but a town nearby has been razed to the ground and locals are unable to retrieve bodies from under the rubble he said. Many of the villages in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains close to the epicenter of the quake are isolated and difficult to access.
9:22 a.m. ET, September 9, 2023
This was the strongest quake to hit central Morocco in more than a century, USGS says
From CNN's Amarachi Orie
The earthquake that struck in Morocco's High Atlas mountains Friday night was the strongest to hit within 500 kilometers (about 310 miles) of the area in more than 120 years, according to the US Geological Survey.
With a magnitude of 6.8, it is categorized as "strong" on the magnitude scale.
Earthquakes of this size in the region are uncommon, according to the USGS, but not unexpected. It noted that there have been nine quakes with a magnitude of 5 or higher since 1900 — however, none of them have had a magnitude higher than 6.
On the scale, each increase of one whole number results in 32 times more strength.
Jonathan Stewart, a professor of civil and environmental engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, told CNN that while the quake was 30 times weaker than the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit Turkey earlier this year, it still released “a tremendous amount of energy” and was likely to do substantial damage.
9:09 a.m. ET, September 9, 2023
As the death toll surpasses 800, here's a breakdown of where the deaths have occurred
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem
Rescue workers search for survivors in a collapsed house in Al Haouz province, Morocco, on September 9. Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
The 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday night has killed at least 820 people, and injured 672 others.
The hardest-hit regions, including the province of Al Haouz and the southwestern city of Taroudant, are those nearest to the quake's epicenter, which was in the High Atlas mountains, about 72 kilometers (44.7 miles) southwest of the major city of Marrakech.
Here's a breakdown of where the deaths have occurred, according to the country's interior ministry:
