Morocco late Friday night, killing hundreds of people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech.
Morocco's Interior Ministry said Saturday morning that at least 632 people had died, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the quake's epicenter. Another 329 people were injured. Casualty figures were expected to rise more as the search continues and as rescuers reach remote areas.
Moroccan television showed scenes from the aftermath, as many stayed outside fearing aftershocks.
Anxious families stood in streets or huddled on the pavement, some carrying children, blankets or other belongings.
Many spent the night on the streets in multiple cities fearful of aftershocks as a desperate mission to locate those trapped in the rubble got underway. Health authorities also called on people to donate blood to help victims.
Most deaths occurred in mountain areas close to the epicenter that were hard to reach, authorities said, and rescue teams were having difficulty reaching the worst affected areas after roads were damaged, Al Aoula reported.
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces warned that residents to pay close attention to follow up tremors.
UNESCO World Heritage site.
Marrakech damaged. Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in the city as throbbing club music played.
Variations in early measurements are common, although either reading would be Morocco’s strongest in years. Though earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near Agadir and caused thousands of deaths in 1960.
“Earthquakes are not common in the area, but [this was] not unexpected,” said U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Anna Andreyev, who said the quake is the largest since 1900.
Variations in early measurements are common, although either reading would be Morocco's strongest in years.   
In 2004, at least 628 people were killed and 926 injured when a quake hit Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco, according to the AFP. 
In 1980, the 7.3-magnitude El Asnam earthquake in neighboring Algeria was one of the largest and most destructive earthquakes in recent history, AFP reported. It killed 2,500 people and left at least 300,000 homeless. 
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