2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake facts for kids
    Clockwise from top: Imi N'Tala, Moulay Brahim, Tizi N'Test and Tansghart after the earthquake
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| UTC time | 2023-09-08 22:11:01 |
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| ISC event | 626740945 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | 8 September 2023 |
| Local time | 23:11 DST |
| Magnitude | 6.8 Mww, 6.9 Mw |
| Depth | 18.0 km (11.2 mi) |
| Epicenter | 31°04′23″N 8°24′25″W / 31.073°N 8.407°W |
| Type | Oblique-thrust |
| Areas affected | Morocco |
| Max. intensity | VIII (Severe) |
| Casualties | 2,960 killed, 5,674 injured |
On 8 September 2023 at 23:11 DST (22:11 UTC), an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.8–6.9 and maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) struck Morocco's Marrakesh–Safi region. The earthquake's epicentre was located 73.4 km (45.6 mi) southwest of Marrakesh, near the town of Ighil and the Oukaïmeden ski resort in the Atlas Mountains. It occurred as a result of shallow oblique-thrust faulting beneath the mountain range. At least 2,960 deaths were reported, with most occurring outside Marrakesh. Damage was widespread, and historic landmarks in Marrakesh were destroyed. The earthquake was also felt in Spain, Portugal, and Algeria.
It is the strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake in Morocco, the deadliest in the country since the 1960 Agadir earthquake, and the second-deadliest earthquake of 2023 after the Turkey–Syria earthquake. A total of over 2.8 million people from Marrakesh and areas surrounding the Atlas Mountains were affected, including 100,000 children. Following the earthquake, many countries offered humanitarian assistance, and Morocco announced a three-day period of national mourning.
Contents
Tectonic setting
Morocco lies close to the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault, which is the boundary between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. This zone of right-lateral strike-slip becomes transpressional at its eastern end, with the development of large thrust faults. To the east of the Strait of Gibraltar, in the Alboran Sea, the boundary becomes collisional in type. Most of the seismicity in Morocco is related to movement on that plate boundary, with the greatest seismic hazard in the north of the country close to the boundary. In 2004, Al Hoceima was struck by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that killed 628 people and left 926 injured. A magnitude 7.3 earthquake affecting neighboring Algeria in 1980 killed 2,500 people.
The Atlas Mountains are an intracontinental mountain belt that extends 2,000 km (1,200 mi) from Morocco to Tunisia. These mountains formed from a collision during the Cenozoic. The mountain range reaches its highest elevation to the west, in Morocco. The High Atlas formed during the reactivation of an ancient rift from the Triassic. However rather than extensional forces, the reactivation compressed the rift feature due to the collisional feature in the north.
Seismicity in Morocco is concentrated in the country's northern region and the Alboran Sea. South of the Rif, seismic activity is sparse but spread across the Middle Atlas, High Atlas, and Anti-Atlas. Seismicity in the Saharan Atlas is limited, and absent in the Saharan region south of the belt; it is also less active eastwards in Algeria and Tunisia. Previously, the largest earthquake recorded in the Atlas Mountains was the Mw 5.9 earthquake that struck Agadir in 1960. Earthquakes in the Atlas Mountains display focal mechanisms of strike-slip, thrust or a combination of both (oblique-slip).
Earthquake
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The Marrakesh–Safi earthquake is the strongest instrumentally recorded in Morocco's history, surpassed only by upper estimates of the 1755 Meknes earthquake, at Mw 6.5–7.0. It occurred at 18.0 km (11.2 mi) depth, and had a magnitude of Mww6.8, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), while Morocco's seismic agency reported a focal depth of 8 km (5.0 mi) and a magnitude of Mwp 7.2. The Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) reported a magnitude of Mw6.9. The tremors were detected by monitoring stations as far away as Egypt. Witnesses said the shaking lasted for about 20 seconds. A magnitude 4.9 aftershock occurred 19 minutes after the mainshock, while a magnitude 4.5 aftershock was reported on 10 September.
The earthquake had a focal mechanism indicating oblique-thrust faulting beneath the High Atlas. The rupture occurred on a steep-dipping oblique-reverse fault striking northwest or a shallow-dipping oblique-reverse fault striking east. The USGS estimated the fault rupture area to be 30 km (19 mi) by 20 km (12 mi). Many east-west and northeast-southwest strike-slip and thrust faults occur in the High Atlas. Since 1900, there has not been a Mw 6.0 or larger earthquake within 500 km (310 mi) of the recent earthquake's epicentre; but nine Mw 5.0 and larger events have occurred to its east. A finite fault model by the USGS indicates rupture occurred on an east-northeast–west-southwest striking, north–northwest dipping thrust fault. Slip was mostly concentrated around the hypocentre within a elliptical slip patch measuring about 30 km (19 mi) long by 25 km (16 mi) wide. A maximum displacement of 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) was observed at 25–30 km (16–19 mi) depth while most of the slip occurred at 20–30 km (12–19 mi) depth; there was little to no slip close to the surface above 15 km (9.3 mi) depth.
Vertical movement of the land surface detected by repeat observations of the Sentinel-1 satellite is consistent with movement on a blind thrust fault dipping north. The Tizi n’Test Fault, a north-dipping geological fault, may have been responsible for the earthquake. No recent activity had previously been identified along the fault. An analysis of satellite data obtained from Daichi-2 by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan revealed a 20 cm (7.9 in) uplift of the surface around the epicenter and to the south, 7 cm (2.8 in) of subsidence. Surface deformation was observed around the epicenter in area measuring 50 km (31 mi) east and west, and 100 km (62 mi) north and south.
According to the United States Geological Survey's PAGER service, the earthquake had a maxinum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Intensity VIII shaking was felt by approximately 156,000 residents, including the town of Azgour and villages surrounding the Atlas Mountains. Intensity VII (Very Strong) shaking was felt by over 873,000 people; 839,000 of said people were in Marrakesh, with intensity VI (Strong) shaking felt by 3.2 million residents, including in the cities of Taroudant and Ouarzazat. Shaking of intensity V (Moderate) was felt in Agadir, Beni Mellal, and Safi, with intensity IV (Light) shaking being felt in Casablanca. According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, it was also felt in Portugal, Spain, Mauritania, Algeria, Western Sahara and along the coast of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Impact
At least 2,960 people were killed and 5,674 were injured; over 2,500 of the injured were seriously hurt. Many fatalities occurred in remote locations south of Marrakesh. In Al-Haouz and Taroudant provinces, the death toll stood at 1,684 and 980, respectively. Forty-one people died in Ouarzazate; 202 died in Chichaoua and 18 deaths were recorded in Marrakesh. There were also fatalities in Casablanca, Agadir and Youssoufia. One person was injured by rockfalls in Imi N'Tala following a magnitude 3.5 aftershock on 13 September. At least 59,674 houses and 2,930 villages were damaged; 32 percent of the said number of houses collapsed.
Four French nationals and a British cyclist were among the fatalities. Fifteen French nationals and some Americans were injured. In Moulay Brahim, residents became trapped under collapsed buildings and volunteers made rescue attempts. At least 40 fatalities occurred in the village. Economic losses from the earthquake could reach up to 9 percent of Morocco's GDP, according to the USGS. At least 585 schools were damaged, seven teachers died and 39 others were injured.
Some homes in older parts of Marrakesh and portions of the city walls collapsed, leaving families trapped beneath debris. At Jemaa el-Fnaa, a minaret of the Kharboush Mosque and parts of its walls collapsed, crushing vehicles below. The Kutubiyya Mosque was also damaged. Several buildings in the Medina of Marrakesh, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating from the 12th century, also collapsed. Internet access was disrupted due to power cuts. The historic 12th-century Tinmel Mosque was extensively destroyed; a tower partially collapsed and walls fell. In Tinmel village itself, 15 people were killed.
The Interior Ministry said the majority of damage occurred away from cities and towns. Near the epicentre in the High Atlas, public television channel Al Aoula reported many buildings collapsed. Entire villages near the epicentre were levelled. At the earthquake's epicentre in the town of Al-Haouz, a collapsed house trapped its residents under rubble. At Amizmiz, a village near the epicentre, rescuers used their hands to sort through debris. Severe damage was reported throughout most of the town, and up to 2,000 people were feared to have died there. Nearly all of the 50 traditional houses in the village of Majat were destroyed and dozens of its inhabitants were killed. Ninety-percent of houses in Asni were destroyed. Additional homes in towns near the epicentre collapsed partly or completely. Electricity and roads were also cut in some areas. In Essaouira, parts of facades fell off.
The towns of Tafeghaghte, Adassil and Imlil, as well as nearby villages surrounding Mount Toubkal were destroyed or severely damaged. An estimated 200 homes were destroyed in Ijoukak alone and between 80 to 100 residents, around half of its population, were killed. In Tafeghaghte, a village of 200 residents, 90 died and many remained missing. In Adassil, 32 students from the same school were killed. Outside Agadir, in the villages of Taqi and Tadrart, many homes were destroyed. At least 70 people died in the village of Imi N'Tala. In the city of Taroudant, almost 200 people were killed. Several old or historic districts in the city were badly damaged. Isolated villages in the Ouirgane Valley still had no electrical and telecommunication services two days after the earthquake, while more than 30 people died in the main village. In the village of Douzrou, roughly 100 residents died. The condition in Tinzert was described as "one giant pile of rubble"; at least 22 deaths occurred. Moroccan television reported that more than "18,000 families" had been affected in Al-Haouz alone. Some residents accused authorities of preventing them from renovating their houses, which were predominantly built with mud bricks, with cement, in order to preserve their historic value and attract tourists.
- Earthquake aftermath in Marrakesh and Moulay Brahim
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Aftermath
People in Marrakesh removed rubble by hand while awaiting heavy equipment. Many residents remained outdoors for fear of another earthquake. Posts on social media showed people evacuating a shopping centre, restaurants and apartment buildings. Residents of the city spent the first three nights outdoors; filling up roundabouts, car parks and a public square. Some businesses in the city reopened on 10 September as King Mohammed VI recommended commercial operations to continue. Unsafe portions of the city were sealed off by officials while tourists and locals continued to move about. In the capital, Rabat, 350 km (220 mi) north of the epicentre, and at Imsouane, a coastal town, residents left their homes.
The General Secretary of the Directorate General of Internal Affairs said officials and security teams were assembling resources to supply aid and assess damage. The Moroccan army cleared one of the main roads to the worst-affected areas, allowing vital assistance to reach people. In Salé, trucks carried blankets, camp beds and lighting devices to the affected areas. Semi-trailers also carried supplies to reach these areas. Local channel 2M shared videos of emergency vehicles travelling along a dirt road. Rescue missions were disrupted as the roads through the mountainous region were congested with vehicles and fallen rocks. Collapsed buildings made from traditional mud brick, stone and rough wood complicated lowered the chances of survival as these materials disintegrated and amalgamated. The amalgamated rubble left limited air pockets for those trapped. In Al-Haouz Province, rocks were removed from roads to enable ambulances and aid to reach the affected areas. A highway in the Atlas Mountains, congested with ambulances, taxis and Red Cross members, was used to treat the injured; the severely wounded were transported to a hospital in Marrakesh. In remote areas that were difficult to access, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces used helicopters to supply basic needs. The Moroccan Health Ministry mobilized more than 2,000 doctors and nurses to respond to the earthquake.
There was a surge in wounded people admitted to hospitals in Marrakesh. Injured people from outside Marrakesh also began to trickle into the city to get treatment. An appeal was made to the city's residents for blood donations. In the morning of 9 September, roughly 200 people, including tourists, visited a hospital to donate blood. Among those who donated were the Moroccan national football team. The initiative amassed 6,000 bags of blood within a day of the campaign launch. Damage assessments in Marrakesh revealed most of the city was relatively undamaged.
King Mohammed VI, who was reportedly in France at the time of the earthquake, authorised the deployment of the Royal Moroccan Army in various affected cities in order to help. He also declared three days of national mourning and ordered the creation of a relief commission to provide survivors with aid, and the opening of special bank accounts to allow donations. Following a meeting with the King on 11 September, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, in his first remarks on the disaster, said that the government was committed to funding rebuilding and compensating those affected. The King himself visited the Marrakesh University Hospital on 12 September, with state media saying that he met with earthquake victims and donated blood. On 14 September, the monarchy announced that 50,000 houses had been damaged by the earthquake, and pledged shelter and 30,000 dirhams ($3,000) to affected households, as well as reconstruction aid of 140,000 dirhams for collapsed homes and 80,000 for damaged ones. The King also designated all children orphaned by the earthquake as "Wards of the Nation".
The Army set up a field hospital in Moulay Brahim. Rescue personnel used heavy equipment to recover survivors and bodies from debris. Survivors from the village began digging graves on a hill to bury the dead. A large tent was set-up in the village to house the homeless. Operations at Marrakesh Airport remained normal but two Ryanair flights from Marrakesh to Brussels and Beauvais, France, that were scheduled for 9 September were cancelled. British Airways replaced its regular aircraft to Marrakesh with a larger one to carry British nationals requesting repatriation.
The Red Cross announced the recovery could take years; several villages near the epicentre in the remote mountainous region were completely flattened and/or inaccessible, with the paucity of infrastructure such railways, roads, and hospitals vis-à-vis the north of the country hampering relief efforts.
See also
In Spanish: Terremoto de Marrakech-Safí de 2023 para niños
- Lists of 21st-century earthquakes
- List of earthquakes in 2023
- List of earthquakes in Morocco
- 2003 Boumerdès earthquake
