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2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake

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Collapsed buildings in Moulay Brahim.
Strong ground motion map.

On 8 September 2023, a big earthquake hit Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco, with an depth of 18.5 km, and a magnitude 6.8 was given.[1] The maximum Mercalli intensity was VIII (Severe). 2,901 peoples have died and 5,530 others injured. The earthquake also felt in Spain, Portugal, and Algeria.

Earthquake[edit | edit source]

The earthquake was the biggest one ever recorded there, being surpassed by the 1755 Meknès earthquake, at magnitude 6.5–7.0. It happened at 18.5 km depth.[1] There was a smaller aftershock 19 minutes later.[2]

According to the USGS, this earthquake had an unusual fault pattern. It involved a steep fault line slanting northwest or a shallow one slanting east. The affected fault area was estimated to be 30 km by 20 km. In the High Atlas area, there are different types of faults, including horizontal (east-west and northeast-southwest) and vertical (thrust faults). Before this recent earthquake, no earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher had occurred within 500 km of its epicenter since 1900. However, there have been nine earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or higher to the east of this region.[1]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 At least 630 dead as powerful earthquake hits Morocco near Marrakesh. Aljazeera.
  2. ↑ Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 2,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech. Associated Press.
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