At least 2,012 people have died and 1,404 are in critical condition, according to Moroccan state television Al Aoula, citing the Moroccan Interior Ministry. The death toll is expected to rise as the search for the missing continues and rescuers reach remote areas in the Atlas Mountains.
A young victim is pulled from the rubble after an earthquake in Morocco. Photo: NYT
Emergency services have been deployed to the quake-hit areas, with Morocco's King Mohammed VI ordering the creation of a relief committee to distribute aid to survivors. Dozens of countries have offered manpower, equipment and other assistance to Morocco, but as of Sunday morning the kingdom had only received rescue workers from Spain and Qatar.
More dangerous because of shallow earthquakes
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake that occurred at 11:11 p.m. local time had a magnitude of 6.8 and a strong aftershock of 4.9 magnitude shook the area just 19 minutes later.
The epicenter of the earthquake was the town of Ighil, about 70 kilometers southwest of Marrakech. The USGS reported that the epicenter was about 18.5 kilometers below the surface, although Morocco's seismological agency determined the depth to be 11 kilometers, which is still considered a fairly shallow earthquake.
The earthquake's epicenter (red dot) was about 70 km from Marrakech. Photo: USGS
Such earthquakes are typically more dangerous than those that occur deeper, according to the USGS. Experts also say earthquakes are uncommon in North Africa, with seismicity rates relatively low along the northern edge of the African continent.
Lahcen Mhanni, head of seismic monitoring and warning at Morocco's National Institute of Geophysics, told 2M TV that the earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the mountainous region. This means that unlike other areas that regularly face earthquakes, Morocco was not prepared for such a disaster.
While the 1960 earthquake that killed thousands led to changes in building regulations, most buildings in Morocco, especially in rural areas and old cities, are not built to withstand strong tremors.
Map of the planet's major tectonic plates. The earthquake occurred about 500 km from the junction of the African and Eurasian plates. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, many buildings in the crowded old city have collapsed. Video footage of the medieval city wall shows large cracks and loose sections. Rescue teams are now searching for people under the rubble. Many remain outdoors, fearing another earthquake.
Villages like Asni are located in the Atlas Mountains, making access a major problem for authorities and rescue teams, especially since roads were also badly damaged by the quake. That is why most of the deaths occurred in mountainous areas near the epicenter.
A Moroccan Interior Ministry official told the Wall Street Journal that at least three villages near the epicenter of the quake were completely unreachable. He added that authorities were trying to bring in heavy machinery to clear roads and begin rescue efforts.
Why did the Morocco earthquake happen?
While the seismicity rate is actually lower in the region, making earthquakes rarer, they are not completely unheard of. According to the USGS, “large destructive earthquakes have been recorded and reported in Morocco, in the western Mediterranean region.”
Such earthquakes occur due to “the northward convergence of the African plate with the Eurasian plate along a complex plate boundary.” Regarding the September 8 earthquake, the USGS said it was caused by “a shallow oblique reverse fault in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco.”
A fault is a crack or rift between two blocks of rock on tectonic plates. Faults allow the rocks to move in opposite directions, and if the movement is rapid, an earthquake occurs. During an earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips relative to the other side.”
Describes the movement of underground rock masses that occurs in two directions. Horizontal movement along a slip plane and vertical movement along an inclined plane. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Scientists use the angle of the fault relative to the surface (called the dip) and the direction of slip along the fault to classify faults. Faults that move along the plane are dip-slip faults, while faults that move horizontally are called strike-slip faults, as shown in the illustration above.
According to Professor David Rothery, an expert in Geosciences at the Open University (UK), this earthquake is not a surprise, although it is not common: "Geologically, there is nothing surprising about an earthquake like this, it just happens very rarely."
“The African and European plates are colliding and the High Atlas Mountains are being lifted up by that collision. So there is some movement of the ground underneath those mountains and that is exactly what happened on the night of September 8,” Professor Rothery added.
Quang Anh
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