A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco on Friday night in what the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said was the strongest to hit that region of the North African nation in more than 120 years.

The quake struck shortly after 11pm local time at the relatively shallow depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.4 miles), USGS said, with the epicenter located at about 72 kilometers (44.7 miles) southwest of Marrakesh, a city of some 840,000 people and a popular tourist destination.

"Earthquakes of this size in the region are uncommon, but not unexpected. Since 1900, there have been no earthquakes M6 (magnitude 6) and larger within 500 km of this earthquake, and only 9 M5 (magnitude 5) and larger earthquakes," it said.

The extent of damages are not immediately known.

This is a developing story. More to come.