The number of casualties is expected to rise still further after the earthquake which is said to have hit a third of the country.
Reports say there are big difficulties in reaching remote villages in the Atlas Mountains which were hit severely by the earthquake.
It may take days before rescuers are able to reach those villages which are mainly made up of old buildings.
Even people in the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco and in Algeria, its eastern neighbour, say they felt the quake.
We have seen scenes of shocked people fleeing their homes and escaping on to the streets of Marrakesh.
And we have heard that the ancient walls of the city have been affected by the quake too.
Moroccan reporter Aida Alami grew up in Marrakesh and has been in touch with her parents who are there. She says the earthquake was totally unexpected
“It’s not a country where people know what to do in case of earthquakes and just people were outside. They were really worried about aftershocks and they didn’t know what to do and no-one was telling them what to do,” she told the BBC.
“Some of the shocking images we saw this morning [are of] the ancient walls that are around the old city that everyone who has been to Marrakesh has walked along.
“And we’re seeing rubbles and we’re seeing a lot of destruction inside. These are very old buildings, they’re probably not built solidly enough.
Quote Message: The more we’re going to get into the day, the more we’re going to find out about what actually was destroyed.” from Aida Alami Moroccan reporter
Moroccan reporter Aida Alami grew up in Marrakesh and has been in touch with her parents who are there. She says the earthquake was totally unexpected
“It’s not a country where people know what to do in case of earthquakes and just people were outside. They were really worried about aftershocks and they didn’t know what to do and no-one was telling them what to do,” she told the BBC.
“Some of the shocking images we saw this morning [are of] the ancient walls that are around the old city that everyone who has been to Marrakesh has walked along.
“And we’re seeing rubbles and we’re seeing a lot of destruction inside. These are very old buildings, they’re probably not built solidly enough.
