EARTH'S WRATH

Thousands have died in Morocco's worst quake in over half a century, leaving a dazed and grieving country to pick up the pieces

- NICOLA WHITFIELD

THE rumbling began deep in the bowels of the Earth as the country sweltered on yet another hot late summer night.

It didn’t last long – less than a minute – but in that time, life as thousands of people knew it, was shattered forever. The earthquake, measuring 6,8 on the Richter scale and followed by a 4,9 aftershock 19 minutes later, was the worst Morocco had seen in over 60 years. The death toll climbed and climbed, quickly reaching over 2 600 as shock and devastation set in.

Hardest hit was the Al Haouz region, home to some of the country’s most beautiful sights, including the highest peak in the Atlas mountains, valleys that descend to bubbling brooks and river banks where hikers feast on tagine served on picnic tables.

The tourist mecca of Marrakesh isn’t far away and it too felt the force of Mother Nature. Videos show terrified customers fleeing packed eateries as the ground begins to move and people running in the street as buildings collapse.

In the nights that followed, hundreds of people lined the pavements with blankets and whatever else they could find, too scared to sleep in any kind of structure in case everything came falling down.