Late on Friday evening, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco - the epicentre was in the High Atlas Mountains, approximately 70 kilometres south of Marrakech.

A 4.9 magnitude aftershock followed just 20 minutes later. Local authorities are already reporting that over 2,800 people have died, and many more are injured. These numbers are likely to rise rapidly in the coming days as the full impact of the disaster becomes clear.

The local Moroccan Red Crescent are on the ground responding to the earthquake.