More than 2,100

killed by earthquake
near Marrakech,
Morocco
• Morocco's devastating 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country late on Friday night has
claimed over 2,000 lives — making it the deadliest the country has seen in decades.
• Another 2,000 people were hurt, including about 1,404 who remain in critical condition, according
to Morocco's state TV Al Aoula.
• The earthquake struck around 11:11 p.m. local time (6:11 p.m. ET). The epicenter was in the High
Atlas mountains, about 72 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech, a popular tourist city of
about 840,000 people.
Morocco’s king orders mosques
nationwide to hold funeral prayers at
noon
• Morocco’s King Mohamed VI has ordered mosques nationwide to hold funeral prayers, known as
"Janazah" prayers, at noon local time (7 a.m. ET) on Sunday for those killed in the earthquake.
• Flags were flown at half-mast across the country, the state news agency said.
• On Saturday, Moroccans flocked to hospitals and centers to donate blood as part of a nationwide
call to help those injured in the deadly earthquake. State and local media showed videos of people
donating blood across the country.
World leaders offer
solidarity to Morocco
after devastating 6.8
earthquake
Officials in Morocco searching for victims and survivors of a devastating
earthquake have so far accepted on-the-ground help from just four countries. The
North African country, reeling from a 6.8-magnitude quake that struck late Friday,
has accepted offers of such aid from Spain, the U.K., Qatar and the United Arab
Emirates.
• Rescue efforts to help those caught
near the epicenter of
Friday's powerful earthquake were
ongoing Sunday, with members of
the army, police and civil defense
arriving overnight.
• Many of the villages in the foothills
of the Atlas Mountains close to the
epicenter of the quake are isolated
and difficult to access, hampering
operations.
• “There are villages further up where the help still
can’t get to. The roads are blocked. They are
clearing them now,”