2023-09-10 03:37:52
A powerful earthquake devastated Morocco on Friday night, killing more than 2,000 people. Recorded at a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale, its epicenter was in the province of Al-Haouz, southwest of the tourist city of Marrakech, and caused extensive damage in several cities. If the Moroccan media are already talking about the most powerful earthquake to have ever struck Morocco, several earthquakes had already caused great damage in the kingdom in recent decades. Le Parisien takes stock.
Al Hoceïma, 2004
On the night of February 23 to 24, 2004, around 2:30 am, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck north-eastern Morocco, causing the death of 628 people and considerable material damage. Its epicenter was located in Aït-Kamara, a town located 19 km from the port city of Al Hoceïma.
About a hundred aftershocks continued in the morning, including two particularly strong ones around 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., considerably complicating the work of the rescuers. Six communes, including those of Im Zouren and Aït-Kamara had been almost totally destroyed.
???? February 23 is the 17th anniversary of the 2004 Al-Hoceima earthquake, which damaged and caused many deaths and injuries in Al-Hoceima province, particularly in Aït Kamra, Tamassint and Imzouren .
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⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/dhw3pB9uo4— Thabrat Narrif ✉️ (@ThabratNarrif) February 23, 2021
Agadir, 1960
On February 29, 1960, around 12,000 people perished in a devastating earthquake in Agadir, a third of the city’s population at that time. This earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.7, caused a tsunami, collapses and significant damage in the region, making it the most powerful seismic event in the history of Morocco at the time. It was also the most destructive moderate magnitude (less than 6) earthquake of the 20th century.
Video of the day
1960: Images of the city of Agadir (#Morocco) destroyed by #earthquake of February 29, 1960 which left between 12,000 and 15,000 dead.
Courage to the Moroccans in the new and terrible ordeal they are experiencing. pic.twitter.com/jmHzb6dBXn
— Michaël Mangeon (@Mangeon4) September 9, 2023
A first tremor at 10.50 p.m. had caused only a few damages before a second ravaged the city. Recorded for 15 seconds, this second tremor destroyed the entire city and decimated its population, the epicenter being just below the city and the constructions being very old and concentrated. A tsunami then hit Agadir.
After this tragedy, King Mohamed V decided to rebuild the city further south and bring it up to earthquake-resistant construction standards, which was not the case before.
Cape St. Vincent earthquake, 1969
This earthquake occurred on February 28, 1969 and was recorded at a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was located 200 km off Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, and was caused by plate movement in the Azores-Gibraltar fault in the Atlantic.
This earthquake is remembered by Moroccans for having generated a small tsunami (1.20 m) in Casablanca, but above all for having caused scenes of panic, nine years after the particularly deadly earthquake in Agadir. It would have caused 11 direct or indirect deaths in the kingdom and, despite its high intensity, it only caused moderate damage to buildings, according to the United States Institute of Geological Studies.
Lisbon earthquake, 1755
On November 1, 1755, at 9:40 a.m., an earthquake whose epicenter was in the Atlantic Ocean, probably about 200 km southwest of Cape Saint-Vincent, affected Portugal, Spain and Morocco . Not having been recorded by seismographs, its exact magnitude remains unknown, but seismologists estimate it between 8.5 and 9 on the Richter scale.
If the disaster particularly affects Portugal, around 10,000 people lose their lives in Morocco, in the coastal cities of Tangier, Rabat, Agadir, Anfa and Safi. An aftershock that occurred 18 days later was particularly deadly in the non-coastal cities of Fez and Meknes.
Fez, 1624
In May 1624, the city of Fez was almost entirely destroyed by a violent earthquake that killed thousands of people. According to historical accounts, the earthquake was felt in many other cities far across the country and remains considered one of the worst natural disasters in Moroccan history. If the number of human losses was difficult to determine, several hundred deaths would have been deplored.
103 years earlier, in 1522, Fez was also hit by an earthquake which partially destroyed the city and caused damage to Tetouan.
#Agadir #Hoceïma #earthquakes #mourned #Morocco