‘As I awoke the building was shaking’: Irishman in Morocco describes deadly earthquake

An Irishman living in Morocco has spoken of being flung out of bed by the force of an earthquake which struck the north African country on Friday night, leaving at least 820 people dead.

Kevin Gallagher, originally from Skerries in Co Dublin, found himself on the floor of his bedroom in his home in Agadir – 400km southwest of the capital Marrakesh.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11.11pm local (and Irish) time, while Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale.

The tremor’s epicentre was near the town of Ighil, about 70km south of Marrakesh.

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[ Earthquake in Morocco kills at least 820 people, more than 670 injured ]

Mr Gallagher said his immediate thoughts turned to his neighbours, some of whom had infant children, in the four-storey block of 16 apartments where he lives.

Also in his mind was the knowledge that in 1960 there was a big earthquake in Agadir which destroyed the city and cost 30,000 people their lives.

“As I awoke the building was shaking which is quite frightening. The first immediate sounds were the shouting and screams of the other residents. The first thing I did was to look at the time on my phone. It was 11.13pm, this is the same time as it was in Ireland. All the parents were holding their children while the rest of us were visibly scared.

“All the car alarms were blaring continuously.

“I knew I had to get out of the building as fast as I could, some people with children needed help, but we all got out safely. Since I moved to Agadir there have been two small quakes with no damage, but this was different. We were concerned about aftershocks for a while but there is no apparent damage and everyone is accounted for.”

Mr Gallagher, who has lived in Agadir for the past seven years, said he received a call from a “very distressed” friend who said her home and village in the mountains, 100km north of Marrakesh, had been destroyed.

“She was unable to contact all of her family and was very upset,” he said.

Mr Gallagher said power had gone off in Agadir, a well-known holiday destination, so many people were unaware of the extent of the damage throughout Morocco. “Some of my neighbours are packing bedclothes into their cars to spend the night on the beach. There are some reports online to say it was a magnitude of 6.8 which apparently is very powerful.”

In Marrakesh, people posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust, and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in historic Marrakesh, a Unesco World Heritage site, have been damaged.

Some videos showed people screaming as they left restaurants in the city as throbbing club music played.

Many people spent the night out in the open as the Moroccan government warned them not to go back into their homes in case of severe aftershocks.