'Like it was doomsday': More than 1,000 dead after powerful earthquake in Morocco

An unusual and powerful earthquake struck the Northern African country Morocco late Friday night, killing more than 1,000 people and damaging a historic mosque.

At least 1,037 people died, mostly in the country’s economic epicenter of Marrakech and five provinces near the quake’s epicenter. Another 1,204 people were injured, Morocco's Interior Ministry reported Saturday morning. Of the injured, the ministry wrote, 721 were in critical condition.

It’s the biggest quake to hit the country in 120 years. The tragedy hit ancient cities made from stone and masonry not designed to withstand quakes.

People ran into the streets in terror and disbelief after being awakened by the quake.

Morocco earthquake updates: Photos show devastating aftermath; more than 1,000 dead

Ayoub Toudite said he had been working out with friends at the gym when “we felt a huge shake like it was doomsday.” In 10 seconds, he said, everything was gone.

“We found casualties and people running and kids crying,” he told The Associated Press. “We never saw anything like this, 20 deaths in the area, 30 injuries."

In the wake of the earthquake near Marrakech, rescuers were using hammers and axes to free a man trapped under a two-story building. People capable of squeezing into the tiny space were giving him water.

President Joe Biden said in a Saturday statement his administration is in contact with Moroccan officials and is working to ensure Americans in the country are safe. He said the U.S. is standing by, along with other nations, to provide assistance. Morocco's government hasn't formally asked for outside assistance.

Earthquake, aftershocks rattle Morocco

The epicenter of Friday’s tremor was roughly 43.5 miles south of Marrakech, which has numerous mosques, gardens and palaces including the famous Koutoubia Mosque. Initial reports suggested damages and deaths were severe throughout Morocco's Marrakech-Safi region, where more than 4.5 million people live, according to state figures.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary 6.8 magnitude when it hit at 11:11 p.m. local time, with shaking that lasted several seconds. The agency reported a 4.9 magnitude aftershock hit 19 minutes later. The USGS said the epicenter was 11 miles below the Earth’s surface, while Morocco’s seismic agency put it at 7 miles down. Shallow quakes are more dangerous than deeper ones.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa. In 1960, a 5.8 magnitude tremor struck near Agadir, Morocco, and caused thousands of deaths. The quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors.

Nearby countries Portugal and Algeria felt the earthquake, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria's Civil Defense agency.

Lahcen Mhanni, head of the Seismic Monitoring and Warning Department at the National Institute of Geophysics, told Morocco's 2M TV the earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the region.

Earthquake damages historic mosque, village

The famous Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, built in the 12th century, was damaged, but the extent was not immediately clear. Its 226-foot minaret is known as the “roof of Marrakech.” Muslims use the mosque daily for prayers, weddings and funerals, according to the mosque’s tourism website. 

Moulay Brahim, a tiny village carved into a mountainside south of Marrakech, was uninhabitable after walls crumbled, windows shattered and more than a dozen homes were reduced to piles of concrete and bent metal poles. At least five residents were trapped.

Later Saturday morning in Marrakech, ambulances and motorcycles whirred by the edge of the old city, where business as usual mostly resumed Saturday morning. Tourists and passersby navigated roadblocks and snapped photos of sections of the clay wall that had cracked, spilling fragments and dust onto the sidewalk and street.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered armed forces to mobilize air and land assets, specialized search and rescue teams and a surgical field hospital, according to a statement from the military.

Contributing: Sam Metz, Mosa'ab Eishamy, Angela Charlton, Ahmed Hatem, Brian Melley, Hadia Bakkar, Associated Press.