More than 2,000 people have died in Moroccos’s deadliest earthquake in more than 60 years.

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit Morocco’s Atlas Mountains region late on Friday has risen to 2,012.

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck at about 11:11pm (22:11 GMT) at a depth of nearly 26km (16 miles), according to the US Geological Survey. The depth was initially reported at about 18km.

Authorities have declared three days of national mourning, with many left homeless following the country’s deadliest earthquake in more than 60 years.

The earthquake’s epicentre was located in Al Haouz province in the High Atlas of the mountains – an area usually not associated with earthquakes – about 75km (44 miles) from Marrakesh, Morocco’s fourth largest city. Marrakesh’s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is reported to have been badly affected, with images emerging of collapsed buildings.

Al Haouz was the hardest-hit province, as Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua, and Taroudant provinces were also severely affected.

The magnitude 6.8 quake is classified as “strong” on the Richter scale, which measures the strength of earthquakes.

Magnitudes are based on a logarithmic scale, meaning for each whole-number increase on the scale. So it was a 10 times stronger earthquake than the last strongest 5.8 magnitude quake of 1960.

To put that in context, earthquakes registering a magnitude of 4 or less are considered to be light, but may still cause some damage.

A magnitude 5 earthquake is, by definition, 10 times more intense than a magnitude 4 and can cause moderate damage to buildings.

Magnitude 6 quakes are typically considered strong and are 100 times more intense than a magnitude 4 quake.

Magnitude 7 earthquakes are considered severe, with the potential to cause significant loss of life and damage to built spaces.

Earthquakes registering a magnitude 8, 9 or higher can result in much more loss of life and near-total destruction of the affected area.

The magnitude, depth, proximity to inhabited areas, soil conditions, and chances of triggering secondary disasters such as tsunamis and landslides are just some of the many factors that determine how destructive an earthquake can be.

Rescuers scramble to help survivors in remote villages amid reports of widespread damage

More than 2,000 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that struck Morocco late Friday night, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. The toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled Saturday to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages to reach hard-hit remote areas to find survivors.  

The 6.8-magnitude quake was the biggest to hit Morocco in 120 years, and the ministry wrote that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns. At least 2,012 people died in the quake, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicenter, Morocco’s Interior Ministry reported Saturday night. At least 2,059 more people were injured — 1,404 critically — the ministry said.

Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in the city as throbbing club music played. Moroccans also posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

In Marrakech, the famous 12th century Koutoubia Mosque suffered damage, but the extent was not immediately clear. The famous mosque’s 226-foot minaret is known as the “roof of Marrakech.” CBS News medical contributor Dr. Celine Gounder was in the city and shared photos from the city’s medina, or ancient center, showing damaged buildings and streets. Gounder said that some areas of the city were less impacted, but that older areas were impossible to access. 

Morocco earthquake leaves at least 2,000 dead, damages historic landmarks and topples buildings

More than 2,000 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that struck Morocco late Friday night, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. The toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled Saturday to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages to reach hard-hit remote areas to find survivors.  

The 6.8-magnitude quake was the biggest to hit Morocco in 120 years, and the ministry wrote that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns. At least 2,012 people died in the quake, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicenter, Morocco’s Interior Ministry reported Saturday night. At least 2,059 more people were injured — 1,404 critically — the ministry said.

Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in the city as throbbing club music played. Moroccans also posted videos showing damage to parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

In Marrakech, the famous 12th century Koutoubia Mosque suffered damage, but the extent was not immediately clear. The famous mosque’s 226-foot minaret is known as the “roof of Marrakech.” CBS News medical contributor Dr. Celine Gounder was in the city and shared photos from the city’s medina, or ancient center, showing damaged buildings and streets. Gounder said that some areas of the city were less impacted, but that older areas were impossible to access. 

Reports on damage and any casualties can often take time to filter in after many earthquakes, particularly those that hit in the middle of the night.

“We felt a very violent tremor, and I realized it was an earthquake,” Abdelhak El Amrani, a 33-year-old in Marrakech, told the Agence France-Presse by telephone.

“I could see buildings moving,” El Amrani said. “We don’t necessarily have the reflexes for this type of situation. Then I went outside and there were a lot of people there. People were all in shock and panic. The children were crying and the parents were distraught.” 

Remote villages like those in the drought-stricken Ouargane Valley were largely cut off from the world when they lost electricity and cellphone service. By midday, people were outside mourning neighbors, surveying the damage on their camera phones and telling one another “May God save us.”

Hamid Idsalah, a 72-year-old mountain guide, said he and many others remained alive but had little future to look forward to. That was true in the short-term — with remnants of his kitchen reduced to dust — and in the long-term — where he and many others lack the financial means to rebound.

“I can’t reconstruct my home. I don’t know what I’ll do. Still, I’m alive, so I’ll wait,” he told the AP as he walked through the desert oasis town overlooking red rock hills, packs of goats and a glistening salt lake. “I feel heartsick.”